Maximum Hearts
by 123keybladeboy
Summary: Max wakes up in Destiny Islands after the heartless destroyed her world meanwhile losing her friends. She and the keybearers will go to different worlds looking for a way to return Max's home. Takes place after the third book and KH2.
1. End of the world?

**Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Maximum Hearts. My first ever fanfiction. And for those of you who have read this chapter before, I didn't like how the original came out. So I rewrote it to make it much better and follow the bigger plot in mind.**

Chapter 1: End of the World?

"Dammit..." I cursed as I ran through the street, holding on to my bloody arm, limping away from those...those things! Those things that instantly destroyed my entire life in mere seconds. I tried to keep looking forward. All I could see were burning buildings behind the smoke. As I slid on the hood of an abandoned car, I looked behind me to see those creatures still following me. Those black-humanoid creatures with antennas on their heads were still chasing me through the flames. "Dammit!" I repeated again.

When I woke up this morning, everything was normal, or as normal you could get for being a girl with giant wings on her back. One minute everyone was eating breakfast, then the next thing I know everything around me was up in flames. And everyone was...

From the corner of my eye, I could see people running for their lives as well, only they weren't as lucky... Those black creatures attacked their chests and ripped them open. As their blood gushed out of their bodies, something that looked like a heart floated out of their bodies. As the hearts floated to space, the bodies of the deceased started to disappear.

Everything around me was either dying or on fire. Was this the apocalypse that everyone was talking about? The one I was supposed to stop? Well, clearly that was a total failure. All I could do was run through the flames, the collapsing buildings, the people crying for help, EVERYTHING! Some hero I am! I couldn't save my family, what makes you think I can save all these people? I felt so useless!

I past a car that crashed into the wall and that was in flames and heard someone crying making my feet stop. My brain screamed at me, telling me to keep running, to get away from here. But my heart is shifted my body towards the car.

I peeked inside through the window. I could feel my heart, or what's left of it, shatter into tiny pieces. A little girl, no older than Angel, crying, face covered in blood, everything around her in flames. I looked to the front of the car and quickly looked away when I noticed the unmoving driver and his passenger. I had no time to think, so I busted the window open. Was that the smartest idea? Probably not, considering my hand is now bleeding. The little girl turned her head and stared at me with fear in her eyes. I couldn't blame her. I would be afraid too if a girl with a blood gushing out of her face, broke into the burning car just after my parents crashed into a car.

"Don't worry! I'm here to help you!" I tried to comfort her as I extended my arm. "Take my hand!"

The little girl hesitated at first, but slowly grabbed extended her arm towards mine. She wrapped her tiny hand around my hand and I pulled her through the window. I cradled her, as if she was just a baby, and started to run away.

As we continued to run, I could see a huge line of those black monsters running towards us. "Crap..." I whispered so the little girl didn't hear me, but from her stare, I could tell she knew how much trouble we were in. I looked down and tried to give her a comforting smile. "Don't worry. I got this!" Which in fact isn't a lie. I could feel my wings expand and begin to flutter. The little girl gasped when she glared at me wings. "Hold on tight!" I yelled as I took off into the air, leaving those black monsters on the ground.

We weren't in the air for long though. There was a sharp pain at the bend of my wings and I started to lose altitude. I heard the little girl whimper as she shook in my arms. I had to land and fast. Thankfully, I found an empty roof just under us.

When we landed, I put the girl down on her feet and checked her for injuries. Thankfully she wasn't seriously injured, just a few cuts and bruises. I cut off a few pieces of my shirt off, mostly the bottom part, and wrapped it around her cuts to stop the bleeding.

"There! That should do it!" I sighed as I finished wrapping the cloth around her head. The little girl didn't do anything but stare at all the destruction that surrounded us. Her eyes were getting watery and she began to sniffle. I don't know why I saved this girl. She couldn't fly. She couldn't fight. She was completely hopeless. But...that was probably why I rescued her... Maybe my motherly instincts forced me to save her and take care of her. I knelt next to her and let out a convincing grin. "So...What's your name kiddo?"

The little girl sniffled as she rubbed her nose. She stared back at me with big blue eyes. "Katherine..." She answered. "...with a K."

I couldn't help but let out a real smile when she finally talked to me. "Okay Katherine with a K, nice to meet you! I'm Max!" I extended my arm towards her and she grabbed it.

"Max..." She whispered to herself as we shook hands. She then stared behind me. "Why do you have wings on your back?"

I looked behind me and realized that I still had my wings spread out. I instantly turned back towards Katherine with flushed cheeks. "Be-Because... I need them to fly around."

"Really!" Katherine gasped as her lips curved upward. "Youre so cool Big Sis!"

I jumped backwards shocked at how fast Katherine's mood switched from being depressed little girl to Ms. Happy-go-lucky. But that smile on her face warmed my heart. Why do little kids have that ability. Plus... I like being called Big Sis.

This little heartwarming moment didn't last long either. It all ended when Katherine yelled "Big Sis" and pointed behind me.

When I turned a complete 180, I growled as the shadows coming from the taller buildings morph into those creatures. I standed in front of Katherine, shielding her. I checked my wings, but they still hurted like hell, so flying away wasn't an option. All I could do was fight and protect Katherine.

"Stay here!" I ordered her as I ran towards the black creatures. I punched one of them as I was in full momentum, so my fist went right through it's head. As the creature became black smoke, I lifted my leg and spun around in a circle, kicking everything around me, killing more monsters. One of them tried to jump in the air rip my face off with it's sharp claws, but I caught it before it could reach my face and threw it to it's little friends.

"Big Sis!" I heard Katherine yell. "Behind you!"

I turned around to see a whole group of them jump up and ganged up on me. I jumped backwards, just barely falling of the edge, but at least I dodged them. "Thanks" I yelled as I ran forward, away from the edge and grabbed on by the neck and threw him to the floor. I, once again, spun around in a circle, killing more of them. I looked up and saw that there were even more of those black creatures. I cursed just low enough that Katherine didn't hear me. Thank God she doesn't have mind reading powers like Angel...Angel... The thought of her made me furious. That I wouldn't hear her laugh anymore, wouldn't talk to her anymore, wouldn't get to see her smile. I visioned the flock in my mind. Seeing them reminded me how much I hate those monsters. That I should kill all of them...

"Big Sis!" Hearing Katherine yell got me back to my senses. I turned around to see more of those monsters going after her.

"Katherine! Run!" I yelled as I dashed towards her.

Katherine began to run to her right, away from those creatures. She headed for the door that lead downstairs, inside the building. She was cut off by the monsters morph into existence right in front of her. Once they began their attack, Katherine turned to her right again and just ran. I raced towards her, killing any monster that was in my way. Katherine stopped in her tracks when she made it to the edge of the building. She turned around so she could run in a different direction, but she was cornered.

"Katherine!" I cried out as I ran. I had to save her. I had to protect her. Or else what meaning do I have to live for anymore?

One of the creatures tackled Katherine, making both of them fall. "NO!" I shrieked with tears streaming down my eyes. I pushed the monsters out of my way and jumped off the edge. As the wind blew through my hair, I forced my body to fall faster. Katherine was screaming her poor little head off as the ground grew closer and closer.

"Katherine! Grab my hand!" I yelled as I reached out for her and Katherine did the same. Once our hands connected, I wrapped her up in my arms. I tried to extend my wings and fly away, but the pain was too much! I couldn't fly.

"Big Sis!" Katherine yelled as her grip on me became tighter. I could feel her tears make my shirt wet. I buried my face into her blond hair and tears streamed down my face, or upward if you're considering how we were falling. All I could do was hug Katherine and close my eyes as I wait for death. Before we crashed into the ground, I saw one more image of my family. Mom, Ella, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, Fang, Angel... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for you...

_Hey... Are you okay?_

**To be Continued...**


	2. Two Strangers?

**Hey guys. I decided to write the story through Max's point of view just like in the books. Maximum Ride belongs to James Patterson and Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix and Disney**

Chapter 2: Two strangers?

_Hey! Are you okay?_

_ Voice? Is that you? You sound different…_

_Sora! Let her rest! It looks like she's been through a lot…_

_ Wait… two voices? What the… _I struggled to get my eyes open. For a moment I could only see two blurry figures talking to each other.

"Look at those injuries…" One of the figures whispered.

"Yeah… She looks like she's been through hell." The one on the right whispered. "But…look at those wings…"

_Wings? Wings!__ Oh God they can see my wings! _Without warning, I jumped backwards, away from the two figures. I got myself into a fighting stance, preparing myself for the worst. _Who could these people be? _I thought to myself. _Erasers? Flyboys? Androids?_

Once I regained my vision, I finally saw the two strangers. They were both teenagers around my age. One was a boy with insanely brown spiky hair, and a girl with, I hate to say it, really cute scarlet-red hair. They both were wearing what looked like school uniforms you see in Japanese drama shows. I quickly took notice of my surroundings. I saw that there was sand under my shoes and I could hear water behind me. Behind the strangers, there were palm trees. So with all this I figure out that I'm at the beach. How I ended up at the beach? I have no clue.

The boy let out a wide grin. "Hey! It looks like you're okay."

"Sora! This is no time to be goofing off!" The girl screamed at him. She started running towards me, dropping her bags in the process. I started to back away, getting to fly away. I tried to spread my wings, but the pain from the attack from earlier stopped me. The red-head grabbed my hand. "Just relax your muscles and everything will be alright."

_Oh yeah. Like I haven't heard that one before! _I felt her grip tightening on my hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _What the heck is she doing? _I asked myself as I struggled to get myself free. You know me already. Don't trust anybody outside the flock. This girl already broke about ten of my personal space laws.

"Stop struggling please!" She the girl yelled while still holding on to my hand. For some reason, her voiced calmed me down a bit. Somehow she reminds me of Ella, my half sister. "Good. Thank you." She took another deep breath. "Curaga!" She screamed almost piercing my eardrum.

A green, glowing flower suddenly appeared over my head. If that didn't freak me out, when the flower bloomed, a bright green light surrounded me. I wanted to fly away, but something about this girl made me stay. My body started to glow green just like everything else, probably not the best look for me. I closed my eyes so this nightmare could end.

"Okay... I'm done." The girl said with a sigh of relief while letting go of my hand. I opened my eyes to see her smiling. "So how do you feel?"

At first I didn't notice, but I felt great. I looked at my arms to see nothing there No cuts, no scars, no swelling, nothing! "All of my injuries..." I whispered with astonishment.

The girl jumped in the air with joy. "I did it! I did it!" She turned around, towards the boy, who I forgot was there in the first place. "Sora! I did it!"

The boy started walking towards us with a thumb in the air. "Nice job Kairi! Looks like all that training really worked.

"Um... excuse me..." I interrupted the two lovebirds. "but what exactly did you do to me?"

The girl let out a cute little giggle. "I healed your wounds with magic."

_Healing magic! NOW I've seen everything! _I thought to myself with a shocked expression across my face.

"Judging by your face, I can tell that you have never experienced magic before." A new voice came from behind the two mages. A tall boy with long silver hair was walking towards where we were. He looked about a year older than the other two. With his hair and how tall he was, he looked like the silver-haired Fang. He walked towards me and with a calmed and low voice he said "You're from another world, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

**To be continued**

**I know these first couple of chapters have been slow, but I promise things will get better. See you next time...**


	3. Heartless?

Chapter 3: Heartless?

"Another world..." I stared blankly at the silver haired boy.

"Riku..." The red haired girl spoke silently. "Are you sure this girl is from another world?"

"I don't know for sure, only one way to find out." The silver hair started walking towards me. He stopped a couple of feet away from me. Again! Breaking my personal space issue! He stared into my eyes, as if he's looking into my soul. "Did you fight any morphing dark creatures before you got here?"

"Huh? How did you-" I quickly shut myself up as soon as I realized what I was about to say. These guys know something I don't.

The boy smiled. "I knew it." Crap... He got me... The boy turned to the other two. "Her world got attacked by the Heartless."

The two friends gasped with shocked expression. "What?!" The spiky haired boy yelled with an angry expression I didn't know he can make.

"Are you sure?" The girl asked. Mr. Silver just nodded.

"Excuse me!" I yelled. I want answers and I want them now! "Can someone explain to me what's going on? 'Another world', 'Heartless'... I don't get any of it!"

The three teens stared at each other first, then back to me. "You might want to sit down for this..." The girl looked at me with a history lesson in plan.

Okay, their explanation was really long (**and the writer is really lazy)** I'll give a quick summary. There are these things called Heartless. They are physical, living manifestations of the darkness within people's hearts. There are two types of Heartless. "Pureblood" which are Heartless born from the darkness within people's hearts. And there are "Emblems" which are created artificially. A few years ago, this man called Ansem the Wise was studying the darkness, but soon gave up because it was too dangerous. But his apprentices decided to continue the study, only to go mad and create Heartless. They lost their lives as well as their homeworld. Then the Heartless started going from one world to the next ultimately destroying each world they go to. Years later, the boy with the brown hair, Sora, stopped the Heartless with the help of his friends Riku (the silver haired boy), Kairi (the redhead), and a few other friends. They traveled through different worlds, fighting Heartless, unlocking keyholes (whatever those are), and defeating an evil organization. The three of them just came back from saving the worlds recently. Yeah... and you thought my adventures were tough.

"...and that's pretty much it..."Sora said as he ended the story. "Hope you understand what happened to this world."

I stared at three as thoughts flew through my mind. "So what you're saying is that my world... is gone..."

Riku looked at me with, what I can tell, sympathy. "Yeah... it is."

I tried to hold back my tears, but I had to know one thing. "What about my friends... my family?"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked away with a depressed look on their faces. Just looking at their faces, tears started flowing down my cheeks. Everyone I knew, Everyone I cared for... gone! I couldn't stop crying. I fell to my knees. I could see my tears darken the sand under me.

"Wait..." I could hear Sora say something under my sniffling. "There might be a chance to save your world!" My head immediately turned to him as soon as he said that.

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked him. It looked like watching me cry made her a bit teary eyed.

"This has happened before with other worlds, then we saved them! Maybe we can do the same for her world!"

"Sora! You're not saying..." Riku looked at him with a sly smile. He seems to be enjoying his idea.

"That's right! We're going to see Master Yen Sid!" Sora screamed with a smile. The other two nodded with agreement. He then looked at me. "Don't worry. If anyone can help you, It's Master Yen Sid."

I looked at Sora. His grin went from one ear to the other. Then I looked at the other two. Riku had a half-smile like Fang always had and Kairi looked at me with a cute little smile. These three just met me, and they already decided to save my entire world.

"Just how do we get to Master Yen Sid's tower anyway?" Kairi asked Sora.

He turned towards her, still smiling. "I saved some gummi blocks from my last adventures. Give me about a day and it'll be ready. See ya!" He started running away, but suddenly turned back. He looked at me. "By the way, what's your name?"

I jumped in total shock. I never told them my name and they still wanted to help me? Usually I never give my name to random strangers to begin with. But... these three are different. I don't know why, but I completely trust them...

"Max. My name is Max..."

**To be continued...**

**Alright, next time we start going into different worlds and start the action! But I need help on what worlds to go to. It doesn't just have to be a Disney world. Leave any suggestions in the review. Thanks for reading. **


	4. Sleepover

Chapter 4: Sleepover...

"So... how does it look?" Kairi asked as we entered her room. I looked around and everything was...well...girly... The walls were pink, there were stuffed animals on the bed, and there were so many pictures, most of them were of her, Sora, and Riku when they were younger.

"Well...I can't say it's surprising..." I answered as I looked around the room.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kairi started to giggle.

"Exactly my point." I laughed as I sat down on her bed. "Thanks again for letting me stay for the night."

"Of course! I can't leave you outside for the night!"

"It wouldn't be the first time..." I whispered under my breath.

"Did you say something?" Kairi asked with a confused expression.

"Nothing!" I answered, witnessing what I said out loud. If people have read my last adventures, I slept outside with the flock (my family) a LOT of times. We practically live in the wilderness. "So anyways..." I quickly tried to change the subject. "Do you guys go to different worlds often?"

Kairi stared at me with concern for a second, then gave a reassuring smile. "Mostly Sora and Riku, either I stay here or I'm in trouble."

"Then... are you alright coming with us."

"Of course! Ever since we came back, I've been training every day!" She looked at me with confidence.

"But...what about your family? What about your school?"

"I already told my father, and I'm pretty sure Sora and Riku are doing the same. As for school, I'm a straight A student, so I can afford to miss a few days."

"What about Sora and Riku?"

Kairi stared at me for a second. "So anyways..." She used my subject-changing technique! "Are those wings of yours real?"

I jumped when she asked that. I forgot that she saw them. I stared at Kairi's with scared eyes. What if she thinks I'm a freak?

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine." Kairi stated.

I immediately remembered meeting my mother, even before I found out she was my mother. She found out about my wings because I was injured. Even though it was freakish, she still helped me. I get the same feeling of trust as my mother from Kairi.

"Yeah... They're real..." I whispered, my voice shaking.

"Really? That's so cool!" Kairi yelled in excitement. I looked at her. She seemed thrilled to know that I have wings. "Can you fly with them?"

"Y-Yeah. You're not shocked? Scared?" I asked. Usually people would freak out when they see another human with wings.

"Well, I am shocked, but I'm not scared. The fact that you have wings is amazing."

"Wow... thanks... I really appreciated that." I let out a big smile towards her.

Kairi leaned towards my ears. "Can you do me a favor tomorrow?" She whispered.

"Uh... Sure..."

"Where's Kairi and Max?" Sora asked sitting on the sand waiting. He looked behind him where Riku was leaning on the gummi ship. "They're late."

"I know. Just be patient. They'll be here." Riku looked up towards the sky and smiled. "Well would you look at that..."

Sora looked at Riku with a raised eyebrow. Then he looked at the direction he was looking. He felt his jaw drop at tremendous speed. "That is SO cool!"

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." I said outloud.

"What are you talking about? This is amazing!" Kairi yelled. I looked down and smiled. I still couldn't believe she talked me into flying, with her in hand, to the ship. But somehow her smile makes me happy. I looked down to see Sora waving at us. Kairi started to wave, but stopped when she noticed it was troubling me to hold her. I started to land towards them. Once we got to a safe distance, I let go of Kairi, who landed safely on her feet.

I quickly looked at my three new companions. Kairi is wearing a pink strapless mini-dress made up of three zippers as well as a white halter top underneath her mini-dress with a black hood. Sora is wearing a black and silver overjacket as well as black and red jumpsuit. Meanwhile Riku was laying by...something... wearing a yellow and white over jacket, with a black zip-up shirt, with really baggy pants. For some reason I feel like I'm in a videogame. Once I landed on my feet, I could feel Sora's stare piercing me.

"That was awesome!" He screamed. He stared at me with big blue eyes. "Can you make me fly next?"

"Sora! There's no time!" Riku yelled at him. "We have to leave soon!"

Sora pouted his lips. "Fine...(you're no fun Riku...)" He whispered.

I laughed as we were walking towards Riku. "Don't worry. I'll give you a ride when it's over." I looked at the thing behind Riku. It looked like a really small red airplane. The little white wings were barely visible. Let's just say, NASA wouldn't trust this to go to outer space. "Are you sure this thing can take us to another world?"

"Of course!" Sora yelled, with confidence. "This baby will take us across the galaxy!"

_I'm shocked it can even float!" _I thought to myself.

Sora jumped on top of the ship. "Alright everyone, let's move out!" He opened a hatch and jumped inside followed quickly by Riku and Kairi. I stared inside. It looked bigger than it looked outside, but not that much.

"Don't worry." Kairi looked at me with a smile. "It may not look like it, but Sora is a pretty good driver. We'll be safe."

I looked at Kairi, then Riku, then Sora. I took a deep breath and entered the tiny ship and took a seat.

"You guys ready?" Sora asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Blast off in 3...2...1...BLAST OFF!"

I heard the engine behind us firing up. Then all of a sudden we started moving. The force of the movement made me stick to the seat. I quickly closed my eyes, seeing if I could find my happy place (of course I couldn't...).

Seconds later I heard Kairi calling my name. "Max! Max! Open your eyes! You have to see this."

I slowly opened my right eyes and my jaw dropped in amazement. Outside the window was probably the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. Imagine a beautiful night sky surround you. There were so many stars. They looked... beautiful. I wished everyone could see this. Angel and Nudge would press their faces against the windows. Gazzy would be explaining everything to Iggy. Fang would probably just sit there and look outside.

Everyone... I promise to get you all back, no matter what...

Fang opened his eyes. He looked around. He was laying on a bed in the middle of a giant room. "Where the hell am I? Where is everyone?" He asked himself. "The last thing I remember... MAX!" Fang jumped out of bed and headed for the giant door across the room. He pushed the doors open and looked outside. The first things he saw were mountains all around him. He could see a small city behind the mountains. Then he looked down. He was at least 200 feet above the air, still no problem. He would just spread his wings and fly... "OW!" He screamed trying to open his wings. The pain was too much. Even if he could open them, the second he jumped off the edge, he would plummet to the ground.

"Ah...you're finally awake." Fang heard a voice. He turned to see a woman wearing a black robe and holding a staff. "We've been waiting for a while now."

"Who are you?" Fang started to back away.

The old lady smiled. "You can call me... Maleficent..."

**To be continued...**

**Sorry not much happened still. I was going straight to Yen Sid's tower in this chapter, but I wanted to state that Max and Kairi will have a sister-type relationship. But next chapter, the true plot will be revealed. Expect it soon.**


	5. The Wize Wizard

Chapter 5: The wize wizard

I stared out the window of the window of the gummi ship, watching stars and asteroids go by. We've been flying for about two hours now, and I started to feel really claustrophobic. Living in a cage for years can do that to you. I looked at Kairi, who was sitting next to Sora in the front, giving him directions. She turned to me and smiled.

"Don't worry. We'll be there in just a few minutes." She comforted me. Geez it's like she can read my mind or something.

"Oh! Don't worry about it. I'm just fine." I obviously lied.

"Hey Max." I heard to Riku calling my name, next to me. "I got a question for you."

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

Riku stared at me for a while. "How did you get those wings?"

_Well at least he gets to the point! _I thought to myself. _I swear, the more time I spend with him, the more he resembles Fang! _I looked back at Kairi, who was staring with worry.

I don't really like to talk about the origin of my wings that much. But...these three basically told me their life story, I might as well tell them mine. Oh... I know the flock will hate me for this later.

"When I was born, a group of scientists took me and started doing experiments on me and other kids." I heard a gasp from Kairi as I continued my story. "These scientists or 'whitecoats' as we called them, tried putting animal DNA on us. There are a lot that have failed, they died a horrible painful deaths. There are others with wolf DNA called Erasers. These guys are violent and very loyal to the whitecoats, but they die very young. And then there is us. Six of us with Avian DNA. We survived the longest. Only recently we thought we had found peace, but then those monsters, those heartless, destroyed everything!" I could already feel the tears forming under my eyes. I quickly stopped them before any of them can see. I looked at Kairi, who was crying enough for the both of us. Riku stared out the window. I adjusted my seat so I can see Sora, who had an angry expression I didn't know he can make.

"That's horrible." Kairi whimpered.

"You've had a tough life..." Riku said.

Sora, surprisingly, stayed quiet. Of course I didn't mention important parts like my "father" being one of the whitecoats or the fact that I have a voice in my head telling me that I have to "save the world." Yeah... good job there Max. Speaking of which, I haven't heard the voice ever since this whole thing started.

"Don't worry Max!" Sora screamed from the front of the ship. "We'll get your home world back. We promise!" I looked at the back of his seat, I could tell he was smiling. I looked back at Kairi. She smiled and nodded, agreeing with Sora. Riku let out a half-smile

These guys... They just met me yesterday and they're willing to go out of their way to help me. It was so rare for me to find someone as nice as Ella and mom. Figures it would take another world to find people just as nice. I couldn't help but start to cry. "Thank you... Thank you..." I continued to thank them. I felt Kairi's hand on my knee for comfort. I wiped my tears away and smiled. "Thank you so much!"

"We're here!" Sora yelled. I looked through the front to see where we were heading. The thing that stuck out the most was this giant tower in the middle. The middle of the tower was bent and it looked like it was going to fall. The walls were covered with windows and smaller towers. The top of the tower had a blue cone decorated with a moon and stars.

"It looks so... surreal..." I whispered. I heard Kairi giggled.

"Okay! Ready for landing!" Sora yelled with a smile on his face.

The landing went smoothly as we went down. I jumped out to feel the fresh air. Oh glorious fresh air!

"Don't like tight places do you?" Riku teased me.

My face turned red. "Shu-Shut up! I'm just not used to..."

"LOOK OUT" Kairi yelled.

Before I knew it I was on the floor staring at yellow eyes. I tried to break free, but the thing had a strong grip. "Get off! Get off!" I screamed as I fought back. I successfully pushed the thing back to see what it was. I could tell it was one of those Heartless, but this one looks like a knight in dark armor. It looked like it was ready to strike again.

"Max!" I heard Riku screaming. I looked up to see Riku jumping over me, in his hand was a dark blade. He cut the Heartless in half before he landed on the floor. Riku turned around and gave me his hand. "You okay?"

"Ye-Yeah... Thanks." I grabbed his hand as I looked down to hide my red cheeks.

"Well that just proves the Heartless are still making trouble." Sora sighed as Kairi and him walked towards us.

Kairi grabbed my hand. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" She checked me for wounds.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" I smiled. I looked at Riku who still had that dark blade. It was black and it looked like... a giant key? It's hilt guard is comprised of two bat-like wings extending downward. "Riku, where did you get that sword? It seemed like you got it out of nowhere."

He looked at the blade, then smiled at me. "This isn't a sword. This is a keyblade. Long story short, this weapon protects the light from the darkness, or in this case, Heartless."

"Sora and me have Keyblades too!" Kairi exclaimed. Sora and her looked at each other and smiled. Suddenly their hand started to glow and giant keys appeared in their hands, which of course made me jumped. I really have to stop being shocked by these three...

Sora's keyblade was white and it's shaft displays two hearts, and its handle bears two angel wings. It looks pretty awesome. While Kairi's... Kairi's... her keyblade is... is... REALLY GIRLY! It's round and curvaceous to the point of appearing harmless. It's bright yellow and has flowers on the top of it.

Sora looked behind me and Riku. "Look out! More Heartless are coming!" He screamed as he ran behind me. I turned to see about of a dozen of Heartless appearing from nowhere. Sora started swinging his keyblade, hitting the soldiers. Riku ran and joined the fight. The way those two fight together, you would think they've been fighting all their lives. Kairi started running towards them, but Heartless got in the way. She started fighting them. She could hold her own, but it looks like she wasn't as experienced like Sora and Riku. I quickly ran towards her to help. I may not have a keyblade, but I'm not useless either.

I jumped in the air and landed on one of the Heartless. It disappeared as soon as I made contact, only leaving a black dust behind. The Heartless next to me got a roundhouse kick in the face. I figured, since these things aren't human, then I don't have to hold back. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kairi taking care of the Heartless behind me. My attention returned to the Heartless in front of me as it jumped in the air, trying to kick my face. I quickly grabbed it's foot and smashed it against the building.

I looked back and saw that we were surrounded. Have you ever heard the term, "destroy one head, two more will take it's place?" There were just too many of them. It would take hours to destroy all these.

"Thunder!" I could hear a high-pitch scream coming from up high. Several bolts of lightning came out of nowhere from the sky. Each bolt hit a Heartless, wiping them all out in seconds.

I stared at my three companions. They all had a big smile on their faces. "Do you mind telling me what just happened?" I asked.

"A good friend of ours helped us out." Sora answered with a big smile.

"He's upstairs with Master Yen Sid. Let's go before any more show up." Riku led the group inside the leaning tower. We went up stairs, as the walls had moons and stars all over.

"To be honest Kairi, this is really creepy..." I whispered into Kairi's ears.

"Really? I think it's cute." She responded with a giggle.

"We really differ on what's cute..."

We finally made it to a giant door at the top of the tower. Riku knocked on the door. "Come in." An old man's voice could be heard from behind the door. Riku slowly opened the door and walked in, with us following.

Inside the room, it had bookcases all over the place, moon shaped windows, and a large wooden desk. Behind the desk, an old man with a beard only a wizard would have, wearing a blue cloak and a pointy hat filled with stars and moons (seems like he has a common theme going on.) He looked ancient, but I could see a plushie, that kind of looked like the alarm clock Jeb got me when we moved into our first house after we escaped the school. Why would an old man have a plushie?

"Welcome keyblade bearers..." The old man welcomed the three next to me. Then he noticed me. '...and friend."

Sora, Riku, Kairi bowed to the old man. I figured that I had to do the same. "It's good to see you Master and your Majesty." Sora said. Wait, he talked to two people? But...there's only one person here?

"It's great to see you too fellas." The plushie smiled and walked towards us.

I immediately backed up against the wall. "Holy crap, the plushie just talked!" I screamed, trying to catch my breath. Everyone started to laugh, even the old man started to chuckle.

"Max, don't worry." Riku tried to calm me down. "Mickey here is one of us, a keyblade wielder."

"Actually I'm a master." The mouse added as he walked to me. "I'm Mickey. Nice to meet you." He held up his hand.

I grabbed his hand and shook it. "Max." I couldn't believe that I was shaking hands with a giant mouse. My life gets weirder every day. I looked at the old man sitting in his desk. "So I'm guessing you're Master Yen Sid."

The old man nodded. "Yes. Welcome Max."

"Master." Kairi called out. "Max's homeworld was destroyed by Heartless. We were hoping that you know a way to bring it back."

"Actually I was going to send Mickey here to bring you here." Yen Sid said.

"Really?" Sora asked with wide-eyes.

"Yes. I have troubling news for you. Maleficent is causing trouble once again."

The young keyblade wielders jumped and screamed "WHAT?" in unison.

"But... last time we saw Maleficent, Pete and her fought Heartless, protecting us while we fought Xemnas." Kairi said.

"That is true, but now she is once again in full control of the Heartless. She is destroying worlds one after another."

"Didn't we seal all the Keyholes?" Sora asked.

"Your friend Max here is the answer to that." Yen Sid pointed at me. "There are plenty of worlds that need to be sealed. I need you three to go to the worlds with unsealed Keyholes. And maybe you can find a way to restore all the missing worlds. Will you do this?"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi saluted Yen Sid. "Yes Master."

Yen Sid looked at me. "Max. I want you to go with them."

"What? You want me to go with them? But... I don't have a keyblade." I yelled.

"It's true that you can't wield a keyblade, but I can sense you have a strong heart Max. I know you will protect your friends no matter what. That is why I want you to go with Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Can you please do that."

Well, since you put it that way... "Yes. I will go with them... uh... Master."

Yen Sid smiled. "Good. Now move out!"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi saluted once again and walked out the door. I quickly followed them, but was stopped by Yen Sid.

"Max. You must promise me something."

"Ye-yes Master." I swear I'll never get used to that.

"When you are in different worlds, you must avoid using your wings. We don't want to disrupt the world's order."

Hearing his request kept me speechless. How did he know about my wings? I never took them out! "How-"

"Max!" I can hear Sora screaming from the bottom of the tower. "Come on! We're leaving soon. Come on!"

"Coming!" I yelled, backing away from the door, continuing to stare at Yen Sid. Somehow he knew about me and I'll figure it out one day.

* * *

Mickey stared as Max walked away. He looked at his former master. "You sure they can handle it?" He asked.

Yen Sid nodded. "Yes. Now Mickey, I have a mission for you as well."

"What is it?"

"You need to meet someone in Wasteland."

**To Be Continued...**

**We're finally going into different worlds =D! Things will really kick up now. Thanks for reading.**


	6. Rapunzel

**Finally! I found the time to write this chapter! October has not been my month with school, but anyway... thanks to MysteryGirl7Freak for giving me the idea for this world. (and pretty much gave me an idea for the plot!)**

Chapter 6: Rapunzel

I looked outside the window of the gummi ship, staring at the billions of the stars, trying to process what just happened. I've been told time and time again that I was destined to save the world, but now the four people in this tiny spaceship are now going from world to world, fighting monsters from the darkness, all to stop an evil witch from either taking it over or destroying everything. What have I signed myself into? But even with all the things happening, the one thing that shocked me the most was that the old wizard knew about my wings! How did he know about them.

"Sora! Look out!" I can hear Kairi screaming at Sora, who was barely evading the asteroids.

"Don't worry, Kairi." Sora gave his usual grin. "I've done this plenty of-"

**BOOM!**

The right side of the ship bursted into flames. We were bulldozed and crashed into one of the asteroids.

"What was that?" I yelled, trying to get my composure back.

"Heartless ships." Riku answered staring out the window.

There were unnatural...things flying past our window. There were regular looking spaceships (if you could call them regular), but there were also really bizarre looking ones. There were a couple of robot-looking ones with drills in each hand (or WERE their hands), some red crosses with a ring on the top, even a freaking pirate ship! Usually this is my cue on getting the heck out of here, but... I couldn't leave these guys to die... They're risking everything on helping me, I have to do the same. (plus i don't think I'll last even five seconds in space, you know with the whole lack of AIR thing, kinda need that.)

"Sora!" Riku blared out. "We need to fight back!"

"Yeah... there's a problem with that... While I was looking for gummi blocks, I forgot to look for any Fire gummis..." Sora let out a weak laugh.

"You mean we're defenseless?!" Kairi yelled.

"Pretty much..." Sora laughed again.

"Just great!" Riku sighed.

"Well then, I don't want to sound mean, but what the HELL are we going to do?" I yelled at Sora, as well as thinking how long I can survive flying through space.

"Sora! There's a world just a few miles from here!" Kairi yelled as she looked at the radar. "You think we can make it?" I could barely hear her anymore with all the explosions that are happening around us.

"We'll just have to see about that." He turns around to Riku and me. "Prepare yourself for impact!" He yelled. I noticed Riku putting on the extra seat belts and figured I had to do the same.

The gummi ship maneuvered passed the Heartless ships, only getting hit by a few explosions along the way. The ship continued to rock violently, making me want to throw up.

"I can see the world!" I heard Kairi scream, but I didn't want to look. I shut my eyes, trying to wake myself up from this nightmare. I could feel me breathing getting faster, the more explosions I hear from afar. Is this it? Are we going to die right here? Crap!

* * *

_Flower, gleam and glow_

_Let your power shine_

_Make the clock reverse_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_What once was mine..._

_ A young Rapunzel stopped singing as her mother, Gothel, continued to brush her hair. "Why can't I go outside?" She asked. All her life, Gothel never let Rapunzel go outside, but no matter how many times she asks "why." Gothel always says the same thing._

_ "The world is a dangerous place." She said as she combed Rapunzel's growing blond hair. "You must stay here, where it's safe. Do you understand my little flower."_

_ "Yes Mommy." Rapunzel nodded_

_ That night, Rapunzel looked out of her window. Every year she had been waiting for this day. That night, there were thousands of lights float all the way to the heavens. She doesn't know why, but the only time she could see these lights were on her birthday._

"Rapunzel!" As she heard her name, Rapunzel awoke from her daydream. "Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

"Today is the day!" She whispered to herself as she ran towards the window, carrying her hair that stretched all over the room.

She did what she had done for years when her mother called from the bottom of the tower. She threw her hair out the window. Rapunzel could feel the tip of her hair touch the grass outside, the only contact she ever had with the outside world. That quickly changes when her mother tugs it, to lift her up. It took some effort, but she managed to lift her up all the way to the top.

"Hi...welcome home mother." Rapunzel sighed, catching her breath.

Mother Gothel landed on the edge of the window and fixed her hair as she walked in. "Ah Rapunzel. How do you manage to do that every single day without fail? It looks absolutely exhausting, darling."

"Oh...it's nothing." Rapunzel giggled.

"Then I don't know why it takes so long." Gothel said while tapping Rapunzel's nose and laughed. "Oh, honey I'm just teasing."

Rapunzel laughed. "So, anyways mother, tomorrow is a really big day." She said with excitement. "You probably have forgotten, so I'll just tell you. It's my birthday! Tah-dah!"

"Nonono... I distinctly remember. Your birthday was last year."

"That's the funny thing about birthdays. They're kinda an annual thing." Rapunzel sighed and made a straight face towards Gothel. "Mother, I'm turning 18, and I wanted to ask... what I really want for this birthday is... well..." She took a deep breath. "I want to see the floating lights!"

"Excuse me?"

Rapunzel quickly jumped over her fireplace and moved the curtains to show a painting. It was her sitting on a tree, staring at the lights as they float to the sky. Rapunzel quickly pointed at the lights. "These."

"Oh. You mean the stars." Gothel said as she put apples in her basket.

"That's the thing!" Rapunzel threw her hair towards a little door and pulled to open it. The sun shine showed another painting with a map of stars and constellations. "I've been charting stars and they're always constant! But these... they appear every year on my birthday, mother. And I can't help but feel they're meant for me. I need to see them mother. Not just from my window. In person. I have to know what they are..."

Gothel had heard enough. She grabbed Rapunzel's shoulders. "Rapunzel!" She started to squeeze them. "Don't ever go outside to leave this tower ever again. I told you how dangerous the world is. There are men with sharp teeth, poison ivy, quicksand! You wouldn't want anything bad happening to you, do you?"

Rapunzel shook her head out of fear. "No mother..."

Gothel sighed "I love you."

"I love you more."

"I love you most..." Gothel kissed Rapunzel on her forehead. "Don't forget it. You'll regret it. Mother knows best." Gothel got some of Rapunzel's hair so she could climb down the tower. "I'll see you in a bit, my flower!" She yelled as she descended.

"Yeah... I'll be here..." Rapunzel sighed as she stared out the window watching her mother walked away. _If it's so dangerous, why could she go outside?_ She thought to herself.

As soon as her mother was out of view, Rapunzel walked back to her bed. She felt exhausted as her face landed on her pillow. Every year she had tried to go outside for her birthday, but she never succeeded. Even though she's 18, her mother still wouldn't let her go outside. Sometimes she thinks about just sneaking out of her room, just for one night. But where would she go? How would she get back? And if it is just as dangerous as her mother said it would it be, could she do it all by herself? Since she did practically everything she could do in her house, Rapunzel decided to take a nice...little...nap...

"**CRAP CRAP CRAP!"**

**BOOM!**

Rapunzel jumped as she heard a noise coming from the roof. She jumped out of bed and ran to the source of the noise. She looked up at the roof to find a giant, human-sized hole where her ceiling was. Her eyes quickly darted to the floor and gasped at her discovery.

A young boy, in his mid-teens, with brown spiky hair lying unconscious. Rapunzel didn't know what to do, besides stare. She walked towards the boy and lifted his upper lip. She found out that he didn't have sharp teeth, like her mother always said. She stared at the boy who fell from the sky for a little bit longer, thinking how he fell from up there in the first place. Well first things first. She had to protect herself for when the boy wakes up. She picked up the unconscious body and sat him down on a chair. For safety measures, and that he doesn't run away, she started tying her hair around him...

* * *

I opened my eyes, head aching, smoke filling my nostrils. I bolted to my feet, looking at the environment around me. I was in the middle of a forest. Is this really another world? Everything seems normal, but where is...

"The ship!" I yelled as I see a giant smoke cloud behind the trees. I started running towards it, only to find the ship completely totalled...and alone. "Kairi! Sora! Riku!" I started screaming everybody's name, hoping for the best. "Kairi! Sora! Riku!" Please be okay. Please be okay!

"Max?" I hear someone calling my name. Kairi emerged from the trees. I was so happy to see her alright that I was about to hug her, but rustling leaves interrupted me.

"Looks like you're both here." Riku said as he dusted his pants. I let out a sigh of relief. But wait...someone's missing.

"Where's Sora?" Kairi asked the question that was on my mind.

"He must've fallen out before we did. He's probably somewhere in this forest." Riku answered. "Why don't you two go looking for him, while I fix the ship and hopefully find some fire gummis."

I hate to be this person, but... "Are you sure he's...you know..."

Riku looked at me with a smirk on his face. "Don't worry, Sora is way too stubborn to die. He's probably looking for us as we speak."

Kairi laughed and nodded. "Come on Max. Let's go find him."

* * *

Sora opened his eyes, head stinging with pain. It felt as if he crash landed, face first, through a building...again! He looked forward and found a window. Outside, he could see trees and mountains. He tried to move forward, but realized that he couldn't move. He looked down and saw that he was sitting down while being tied up by...hair? And it was really long. His eyes couldn't help but follow as the hair went all over the small round room. He finally reached the end, but it was too dark to see who's hair it was.

"Stru-Struggling is pointless!" He heard a female voice coming from above. He then can see the hair jumping down from the ceiling to another shadowy area in the room. He could only see the shine of the golden hair on top of somebody's head. "I know why you're here..." The voice continued. "...and I'm not afraid of you..."

"What are you talking about?" He screamed towards the voice. Sora started to worry. If he was in this much trouble, he wondered how Kairi and the rest are doing.

Suddenly, the glowing hair started to move towards Sora. A beautiful young girl stepped out of the shadows and stared at Sora. "Who are you? And how did you fall from the sky?" She asked holding a frying pan in her hand.

_So I did crash into a building... _Sora thought as he looked up and saw a giant hole on the ceiling.

"Who are you? And how did fall from the sky?" The girl asked again.

Sora could easily tell that the girl was scared. Why wouldn't she be? He did just bust a hole through her roof. "Look, ma'am..."

"Rapunzel!" She corrected him.

"Okay...Rapunzel, I'm sorry that I scared you, but me being here is entirely an accident!"

"An...accident...?" Rapunzel repeated. She then pointed towards the hole in the ceiling. "How did you fall from the sky."

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question. All I want to do is find my friends, so if you please let me go and I'll be out of your hair, literally!" Sora pleaded.

"Wait...so you don't want my hair?" Rapunzel asked.

"No. Not at all." _Why would I want her hair?_

Rapunzel walked away out of Sora's view, muttering something to herself. "Okay...umm..."

"Sora..."

"Sora, look over here."

He could feel Rapunzel pulling her hair, thus moving his chair in the process. His chair moved to where Rapunzel was standing on top of her fireplace, in front of a giant curtain.

"Do you know what these are?" She asked as she pulled the curtain to show a painting. It was a painting of Rapunzel sitting on a tree and looking up at the night sky. Rapunzel showed emphasis on the stars.

"Do you mean the stars?" Sora asked.

"They're not stars! Every year, these lights float to the sky every year. Tomorrow, they're going to be floating, and I want you to take me there." Rapunzel jumped down from the fireplace and walked towards Sora.

"So all we have to do is look for these 'floating lights?" Sora stayed quiet for a few seconds. "...Sure, but only on one condition." Sora looked at Rapunzel with his usual grin. "We look for my friends on our way there."

Rapunzel smiled and looked like she was about to jump for joy. "Are you sure? Do you promise?"

Sora nodded. "Sure! It sounds like fun anyways." Suddenly, the hair around Sora fell to the floor. As soon as he was free, Sora stood up and stretched his arms. "Do you know where to go?" He asked as soon as he realized he had no idea on where to go.

"I have an idea." Rapunzel walked towards her window. She pointed towards a bunch of trees. "They all come from that direction. Why not check there?"

Sora couldn't help stare at Rapunzel's hair. It was at least 70 ft. long. "Are you sure your hair won't be a problem?"

Rapunzel looked at her hair, as it tangles around her room. "You're right..." Her face lightened up. "I got it! I'll plait it so it'll look shorter."

"Alright. Once you're ready, we'll head out!"

**To be continued...**

**Finally finished chapter 6! Wow, it's the first chapter that doesn't entirely revolve around Max. Sorry not updating anything for a month. But, hopefully, expect the next chapter soon (and probably another fic as well.) **


	7. Flynn Rider

**Well so much for uploading it in November, but even so, welcome to chapter 7! It's a little shorter than other chapters, but with time being an issue, I had no other choice. Before you read the chapter, while I was watching Tangled, this is what I thought about Flynn when I first saw him. Don't worry, he will get better later.**

Chapter 7: Flynn Rider

"Max! Do you see anything up there?" Kairi asked, looking up from under the trees.

"No. I don't see him." I screamed from the top. That old man said not to use my wings, but he never said to not use my super climbing skills. We've been searching for Sora for over an hour now and we didn't get a single clue on where he is. And judging on the size of this forest, it'll probably take a while before we actually find him.

"Okay let's see... Castle to the south. Trees to the north. More trees to the west... Great..." Suddenly, rustling leaves and heavy breathing could be heard from afar. "Kairi! I think I heard something coming from that way!" I yelled as I pointed east. "Come on!" I started jumping from tree to tree towards the sound. I didn't check, but I know Kairi was following me from the ground. Up ahead, there was a big clearing. In the middle of that clearing, I could see a black blob wriggling around. As I got closer, I could see that they were Heartless attacking a man. "Oh crap!" I whispered under my breath.

I jumped from the tip of the tree, and stomped on one of them. Once I became face to face with them, I could see that they were some type of dog. I almost felt sorry for killing those Heartless. Call me weird (or weirder), but I actually thought those dogs were rather cute. But it had to be done. When the smoke of the heartless settled, I looked where they were all ganging up on. A man, who looked like he was in his mid-twenties, was unconscious on the ground.

"Max!" Kairi yelled my name as she ran over here. She grabbed her knees trying to catch her breath. "Don't just run off like that. We don't want to lose you too!" She looked up and realized the man. "Oh God, what happened?" She knelt next to him.

"I saw a group of Heartless attacking him, so I took care of them."

"It's a good thing you did. A few seconds later, and his heart would've been gone." Kairi took out her keyblade and placed it over him. "Curaga!" She casts her spell and the man's wounds started to disappear. I can't believe that I'm used to this already. I wonder what other strange things I'll see in this adventure.

While I thought about the things I'll see, the man gasped and sat up. It happened so fast that Kairi squeaked. The man looked at every direction, gasping for air. He then stared at us, with his light brown eyes. He gave us one of the cheesiest smiles you could ever see.

"Did I die and go to heaven?" He said in an obvious, fake, deep voice.

Oh God. We saved one of THESE guys. "If you're going to hit on us, don't hold your breath." Kairi announced with an annoyed tone. You go girl!

"Oh I'm sorry." He apologized as he got to his feet and flipped his hair from one side to the other. "I was left speechless when I saw two beautiful women when I woke up." He started making his way towards Kairi and put his arm around her.

Okay, "Big-Sister mode" activate. "You better watch where you put those hands, buster!" I gave our friend a little advice. It looked like he caught my drift, because he immediately let go of her. Kairi quickly walked away from the creep.

The man put his hands up in the air. "Okay Okay! Let's all stay calm. I don't want any trouble. I'll just be on my way." He started walking away from us.

"Good riddance." I whispered under my breath. "Come on Kairi, let's keep looking for-" I got distracted by a piece of paper falling from the perv's pocket. Kairi ran towards and picked it up.

"Uh Max. I think you should see this!" She called me over. I stared over Kairi's shoulder and looked at the piece of paper.

"No way..." I couldn't believe my eyes. The piece of paper was actually a wanted poster. It said "Wanted! Dead or Alive!" The person's name was "Flynn Rider" The picture of the wanted poster was the perv himself, with a bigger nose... "This guy is a wanted criminal?!"

"We can't just stand here and let him get away!" Kairi said, staring at the man walking away.

"I got this!" I cried as I dashed towards the convict. "Hey! Buddy! I got to talk to you!" I shouted.

The man turned around, as if I was accepting his company. Ha! As if! He didn't even see me coming at him with a flying kick to his obnoxious face! Once my foot connected, it was lights out for pretty boy.

"How can you run so fast?" I heard Kairi, trying to catch her breath. I completely forgot, (you know with the magic and all), her body is still human.

"I guess it comes with having Avian D.N.A." I answered her. I looked at the, once again, unconscious man.

I realized that I was taking him somewhere against his will, where he'll be probably locked up in a cage, and possibly tortured. My God...I'm becoming like my father... But this man deserves it! He's a wanted criminal! That makes it right. Right?

Anyways we have to do something, just in case he wakes up. "Let's see if he has some rope, so we can tie him up." I ordered Kairi.

"Right!" Kairi agreed "Where should we take him?"

I pointed south. "When I was on top of the trees, I saw a giant castle that way. If he's a wanted crook, best place to take him there."

"I wonder what he did to get into this mess..."

"With his personality, he probably made his way with the queen. Anyways, let's get him to that castle." Sorry Sora. Looks like you'll just have to wait a bit longer.

* * *

"So you're telling me, that you have never left that tower before?" Sora asked as he opened the secret door at the bottom of the tower.

"Yeah. Mother always said that it was too dangerous." Rapunzel answered. Sora stared at her hair. Even though her hair was braided, it still made it all the way down to her feet. The plait consisted of flower patterns as her hair was tied into a long ponytail. "The floating lights usually come from that direction."

"All right!" Sora yelled with excitement. "Let's go." Even with the thrill of a new adventure, he was still worried about his friends. What happened to them? Are they okay? Are they looking for him right now?

"Sora, are you okay?" Rapunzel asked noticing his worried face.

Sora quickly changed his facial expression. "Don't worry it." Sora looked off at the direction they were heading. "So I guess we're heading south, huh..." He looked back at Rapunzel.

She was staring at the sky with gleaming eyes. "I can't believe I did this!" She yelled. Then, as if she had done something wrong, her eyes got wider, showing fear. "I can't believe I did this!" She then started to spin in circles and giggles. "I can't believe I did this!" Then back with her scared face. "Mother will be so furious.

Sora sighed. "This is going to be a long day..."

* * *

"God, this guy is heavy!" I complained as I carried the criminal towards the castle on my back.

"Sorry I couldn't be much help. He was just too heavy for me." Kairi apologized.

"Don't worry about it." I let out a smile. "Who knows what this guy would do to you if he woke up while you were carrying him."

And speak of the of the devil, I heard grunting coming from behind me. "Ahhh... what hit me?" He asked as his eyes opened.

"Only my foot to your face." I answered with a chuckle. The criminal finally realized what was going on and tried to move his arms, only to find out that his entire body was tied up with rope. "Thankfully we found some rope inside your bag, or else taking you away would've been harder."

"Hey hey hey hey hey!" He repeated himself. "What's going on? Where are you taking me?"

"We're taking you to that castle over there!" Kairi answered. She pointed to the castle, which was in plain view now. We must be closer to it now.

"Wait! Why are you doing that?" The man started to struggle, which was getting really annoying, so I dropped him on the ground.

"Quit kidding yourself!" I scolded. "We know who you are 'Flynn Rider!'" I took out the wanted poster and showed it to him. "So we're taking you to the authorities!"

Flynn stared at his wanted poster. "Why can't they ever get my nose right?" He let out a sigh.

Is this guy serious? We're taking him to jail, and all he cares about is his stupid nose on his wanted poster? What's wrong with him?

"By the way Flynn, why are you a wanted criminal?" Kairi asked as she carried his bag.

"Look inside the bag and you'll find out little lady."

Kairi opened the bag and looked around. She grabbed something and took it out. It was a beautiful crown. It was solid gold and filled with jewels. It had three clear crystals in the center. It's fit for a princess.

"I stole that from the castle, plus other priceless possessions from the kingdom."

"Well that explains it." I said as I picked up the jewel thief. "Come on! Let's go."

"Wait wait wait wait wait!" Flynn once again started to struggle. "Don't take me there! I've got so much more to live for!" He wiggled around so much that he actually escaped my grip and fell to the ground.

"Hey get back here!" I yelled as he was wiggling away. Once I caught up to him, I put my foot on his back so he couldn't move.

Kairi walked over to Flynn and looked down to see his face. "I don't think running away is a smart plan."

"Looks like I have no choice." Flynn sighed. He stared at Kairi and me with puppy-dog eyes as well as pouted lips.

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, but that won't work on me." I said. Only one person can give me the puppy-dog and actually work, and this guy definitely isn't her. "Let's go."

"Wait, hold on!" He yelled. He looked around at every direction. He noticed a pub to his right. "Can't a guy get his last drink before he goes to jail?"

I stared at the pub. In front of it was a sign with a duck on top of it. The sign reads "The Snuggly Duckling." Baby names aside, the building looks rundown and ready to fall apart at any moment. I looked at Kairi, who was staring at the pub too.

"Why don't we take him there?" She offered the idea.

"What? Are you sure?" I questioned her.

Kairi nodded. "Who knows when this man will get to eat again. Why not grant his final wish?"

"Don't worry! I could even get you two some food! I'll buy." Flynn tempted us.

Well, food does sound good right now. I continued to stare at the pub. I let out a sigh. "Fine. Let's get this guy a drink..."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Flynn thanked us as I picked him up and carried him towards the pub. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Riku was whistling as he waited for Sora, Kairi, and Max. He finished his little tune and let out a sigh. "Where are those three? Probably causing trouble somewhere." He looked at the finished ship, WITH added fire gummis. "They better hurry up. I'm bored..."

**To be continued...**

**Thus ends this chapter. What will happen with Max, Kairi, and Flynn at the Snuggly Duckling? Will Sora and Rapunzel make it to the floating lights? How will Riku get rid of his boredom? Find out next time!**

**Oh by the way, if you like Maximum Hearts, I have uploaded what I like to call the second half of it with a good buddy of mine. It's called Maximum Hearts: Tales of the White Wings. Please check it out. And as always thanks for reading.**


	8. Trouble at the Snuggly Duckling

**Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and whatnot. Here's a new chapter just for you guys. This was a fun one to write, hopefully you will enjoy it... Please R&R**

Chapter 8: Trouble at the Snuggly Duckling

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" Mother Gothel yelled from the bottom of the tower. She stayed there for a few seconds until she realized something was wrong. "Rapunzel? Rapunzel?" She called again. Not a single strand of hair fell from the tower. Now she started to get worried.

She immediately walked along the tower. She gasped as she saw the block that was covering the entrance to the tower was moved. Gothel darted through the hole and climbed the tower. She slammed the door open to Rapunzel's room. The room was entirely empty. Gothel looked in every direction, gasping for air. Something caught her eyes. She looked up and found a giant hole in the ceiling. _Someone took her! Someone took Rapunzel! _She quickly thought to herself. _I have to go get her back!_ She put on her cloak and started running running down the tower.

* * *

Sora stared at Rapunzel crying beside a rock. She's been acting weird the entire day. One second she could be having the time of her life, then she would think she's a despicable human being. With everything she was saying, Sora figured out what was going on.

He knelt next to the crying girl. "I could tell that you're sort of at war with yourself..."

Rapunzel looked up with watery eyes. "What?"

"So what I've been getting from everything you've been saying is that, you're mother is really over-protective and you're not supposed be out in this little road trip. And now you're conscience is battling it out."

Rapunzel looked away while pouting her lips.

"If you think this trip will break your mother's heart..."

"Break her heart!" Rapunzel jumped at the thought.

"...then we should just head back."

Rapunzel got to her feet. "No! I have to see those lights with my own eyes. Nothing is going to stop me!"

Sora let out a grin. He quickly grabbed Rapunzel's hand. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Lets go!" Sora started running with Rapunzel behind him.

* * *

"Okay, get ready for your last drink before we send you to the doghouse." I told our new perverted companion as Kairi opened the door in front of us. It only took us a few minutes to reach this place. "Once you finish your drink, we're leaving!"

"Yes ma'am!" Flynn sighed as we walked in the pub.

Now let me tell you this. Just because a place is called "The Snuggly Duckling" doesn't make the inside is anything you expect it to be. I was expecting probably a place full of wusses and hipsters. But of course the place would be full of Popeye-muscled guys in armor holding VERY sharp objects.

"Garçon! Your finest table!" The idiot to my right yelled. That JERK! He set us up! I was ready to take Kairi and get the hell out of here, but I heard someone close the door behind us. "Well no time to waste, ladies." Flynn began pushing me and Kairi towards the crowd of people who can probably lift up a train with their pinkies. Wait a second, is that guy covered in rats?! Oh crap that guy has a hook for a hand.

A big guy stopped us on our way to the table. He was wearing your ordinary viking helmet and a really furry coat. In his hand was a piece of crumpled up paper. He uncrumpled it and showed us a picture. "Is this you?" He asked in, probably, the most threatening voice ever. The picture was of, once again, Mr. Flynn Rider. Wanted Dead or Alive, but with a longer nose.

"Oh, now they're just being mean..." He sighed.

"It's him alright." A bald chubby guy with a hook started walking our way. Actually, the entire pub was making their way here. "Grino, go get some guards." He grabbed Flynn by the collar and placed his hook to his face. "That reward is going to buy me a new hook..."

It seems like Flynn was about to say something, but a man who was wearing a smelting mask grabbed Flynn. "I could use the money!"

Then another man grabbed him. "What about me? I'm broke!"

In a matter of seconds, Flynn was being tossed around like a ragdoll. The entire pub was after the reward money. I almost busted out laughing. The lowlife was setting up a trap for us, only to get himself into trouble. Just what he deserves. Isn't karma great?

"Come on Kairi. While they're busy, let's get out of here and keep looking for Sora." I suggested (okay, more like ordered), as I started walking towards the door.

"Wait, Max. Shouldn't we help him?" She asked while staring at the poor little jewel thief.

"Why should we? They're going to get the guards and he'll go to jail. It's just what we wanted!"

"Yeah, but... I really think they rather go for the 'dead' option more than the 'alive'..." Kairi pointed towards the mob. The man with the hook lifted up his hand and it seemed like he was going to hit Flynn with it.

"Wait!" My voice bursted out of my mouth. I wanted the guy to go to prison. Not in a bodybag! "I don't really see why we need to kill the man." I started making my way through the crowd. "I mean, I know he's rude, immature, perverted..."

"Not helping!" Flynn yelled as I went off topic.

"What my friend is trying to say is that why kill a man for money, if you're getting the same amount for keeping him alive?" Kairi finished what I was going to say, only by actually saying it.

The room stayed painfully quiet for a couple of seconds. "Don't fall for it! They're only saying this so they can get all the money themselves!" A man within the crowd shouted.

"What?!" I screamed. The man with a hook pushed me away and raised his hook once again. Crap! I have to do something! My hand quickly turned into a fist and it connected to the man's face. He went flying through the pub and crashed into the wall, leaving a huge human shaped hole. It took me seconds before I realized what I just did.

"You little..." The man almost cursed. "You're going to pay for that..." He got up and showed off his shiny hook. Oh great...

* * *

Sora looked around. "Still no sign of the others..." He let out a sigh.

"Are these people important to you?" Rapunzel asked as she caught up with him.

"Yeah." Sora nodded. "I've been friends with two of them since we were kids. We've been through so many things together, you could probably write a few books about it. The third one...well... we just met her the other day...and she's kind of weird, but...she already fits in with us."

"Having friends must be nice..." Rapunzel said enviously.

"What are you talking about? We're already friends aren't we?"

Rapunzel jumped at the question. "What? We're friends?"

"Of course we are." Sora answered as he let out his prize-winning grin. "And once we catch up with the others, they'll be your friends too!"

Rapunzel was overjoyed at the thought of having friends. For eighteen long years, she lived in the tower. She loved her mother for protecting her, but she had missed out on so many things. But starting today, all that was about to change.

Sora looked to his right . There was a sign saying "The Snuggly Duckling." Behind it was a pub just a few minutes away. "Hey, why don't we get a drink? They might have juice in there..." He said as he started walking towards the pub with Rapunzel following. "Hey Rapunzel, what kind of juice do you like?"

"Orange is fine..." She answered as they got closer to the pub.

CRASH!

A man wearing armor crashed through wall. Rapunzel screeched at the sight. Sora looked through the hole to find even more men flying around in the pub. "What the hell?" Sora asked. He turned to Rapunzel who was still in shock of the flying body. "Stay here, where its safe."

"What are you going to do?" Rapunzel asked once she came to her senses.

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this!" He yelled as he jumped through the hole and into the fight.

"Take this, you brat!" A man yelled as he went to hit me with a wooden club. I jumped backwards and landed on a table. I quickly did a 360 spin, to get my surroundings. Kairi was holding her own with the thugs. She was using her keyblade to attack them. As for Flynn, he was surprisingly well for someone like him. He's using a knife that he found at the counter to defend himself. It seems like everything is under control.

Wait...more thugs are being thrown from the other direction. Is someone else fighting with us? The crowd slowly dwindled and I soon saw the new challenger. I let out a smirk once I saw his spiky hair. I hopped from table to table to reach him. I landed on a thug's face, making a giant THUMP on the floor. "Glad you could join us." I greeted.

"You think I would miss out on the fun?" Sora let out an amused laugh. "So, how did you piss these guys off?" He asked while fending off two thugs.

"Oh, we just made them miss their chance on some reward money." I answered as I gave a man my infamous roundhouse kicks.

"Sora!" A different high-pitch voice can be heard from the counter. The owner of the voice was a girl with abnormally blond hair, even though it's braided. She was waving at us.

"Rapunzel!" Sora screamed in shock. "What are you doing? I told you to stay outside!"

"I'm sorry, but I found a secret passage!" She yelled back. Suddenly a thug jumped towards her with a giant knife.

"Look out!" Flynn pushed the blond girl out of the way. "You okay?" He asked. Who knew he could be so caring? "Hey girls...and boy! Let's go!"

"Who made you leader?!" Kairi asked as she was jumping on thug's heads to make her way towards the counter.

"Come on Max!" Sora ordered as he was slashing thugs out of the way, making a road to the counter. We both dodged sword slashes, axes being thrown at us, and even an old man wearing angel wings. We jumped over the counter and towards the secret hole. Flynn closed the door and locked it. We could hear the thugs slamming on the door.

"I don't think they're going to follow us anytime soon." Flynn let out a sigh of relief. He turned towards Sora and the new girl. "Who's the spiky kid and blondie?"

"Yeah Sora. Who's the girl?" Kairi asked with a hint of jealousy. Ah, young love...

"This is Rapunzel." Sora answered. "We were going to see the floating lights."

"Floating lights?"

"Are you talking about the sky lanterns the people do every year?" Flynn asked.

"So they're lanterns." Rapunzel whispered. "I KNEW they weren't stars!"

"I guess that's it. So what were you two doing?" Sora asked Kairi and me.

"Can we catch up later?" I asked, noticing my heavy breathing. Sora and Kairi looked at their surroundings. We were in a small cave with barely any space to move. "You guys know I feel about tight places."

"You're right Max. Let's find an exit." Kairi suggested.

"Thanks Kairi."

"Alright ladies...and gentleman. Let's head out!" Flynn yelled after taking a torch from the wall.

After a few minutes of telling each other of our misadventures **(Again, blame the lazy writer),** we finally saw a light to the outside. We quickly ran outside, only to almost to fall to our deaths. We found ourselves at the edge of a huge cliff. The bridge that was connecting the other side was broken. I turned around and realized that we were in front of a dam. At the bottom of cliff there was an opening closed off by piece of wood. It never stood a chance against two burly men, with eyes ready to kill. They both were wearing black thief clothes, had red hair, really pale skin, and even one of them had an eyepatch.

"Who are they?" Rapunzel asked.

"They don't like me!" Flynn answered. Behind us, we could hear the thugs from the inside of the cave.

"So much for 'not going to follow us anytime soon.'" I said sarcastically towards Flynn, only to hide my fear. I looked to my right to see Sora and Kairi summoning their keyblades.

Crap crap crap! We are way too outnumbered! What are we going to do? If we don't do something now, we're good as dead! I was so worried, that I didn't notice the blond girl taking off her braids. Her hair surrounded us. She tied her hair and threw it to an piece of wood sticking out above the cliff.

"Quickly hang on to me!" She ordered.

I realized what she was doing, and came up with a plan myself. I'm sorry old man, but your rule has to be broken! I straightened my back and let my wings expand.

"W-Wings!" I could hear Flynn yell behind me.

I was ready for take-off, but I noticed an issue. I can only carry one person, and I doubt that Rapunzel could carry more than person.

"You guys go ahead." Flynn said as he got behind us, knife in hand.

"Are you suicidal?" Kairi asked.

"They're after me right? You guys shouldn't be dragged into this! Now GO!"

Who knew this guy also has a heart of gold? "I'll come back for you!" I yelled.

"Max!" Kairi cried out.

"You heard the man! Now come over here!" Kairi hesitantly walked to my side. I grabbed under her arms and took to the sky. Below me, I noticed Rapunzel swinging across the gorge, with Sira hanging on around her waist. Once I dropped Kairi on the other side, and Rapunzel was almost done with her swing, I noticed Heartless on top of the dam breaking the wood all together. They're trying to drown us?! I have to get Flynn and get out of here.

I flapped my wings and started making my way towards Flynn, who was giving it his all with the thugs. "Flynn! Heads up!" I yelled as I sneaked up behind him and started flying back towards Kairi and the others.

"Hah Hah!" Flynn started laughing. "That was amazing!"

At the sound of him cheering, I didn't notice the men at the bottom threw their swords in the air. They hit Flynn's hand and my left shoulder. The pain made both of us dive bomb to the bottom of the gorge. Once we crashed landed on the ground, I heard the dam breaking. Water started fill the gorge really fast. I quickly got to my feet, holding my shoulder. I already knew I couldn't fly (trust me, I've been there before), so all I could really do is run, but as soon as the water hit me like a freight train, I learned that it was also useless. The last thing I heard was Sora and Kairi screaming my name. The last thing I saw was a streak of blond hair.

**To be continued...**

**Dun dun dun! An actual cliffhanger! What will happen to Max and Flynn. What will the others do now? What is Riku doing in to cure his boredom?!**

**Riku: Nothing... Absolutely nothing...**

**...See you next time!**


	9. Memories

**Wow this has got to be the darkest chapter I've ever worked on. I feel that this chapter will either be a hit or a miss. Well anyways enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Memories

Gothel stared, as more and more of those of those thugs ran through the secret exit. _I have got to find out where that passage leads. _She thought.

Seconds later, an old man wearing a diaper and angel wings walked out of the pub. Drunk and confused, he stared at Gothel with awe. "Woah... somebody get me a glass, because I found me a tall drink of water."

Gothel almost vomited at the sight of the old drunk. The scent of alcohol burned her nose as the man talked. She wanted to get rid of him in an instant, but instead, she decides to use the old man to her advantage.

"Oh, stop it, you big lug." She started putting on her best performance. She instantly went from sweetheart to cold-blooded in an instant as she takes her dagger and points it towards the drunk. "Now, where does that tunnel lead?"

* * *

"Good morning Max!" My half sister Ella yelled as she opened my door. "Mom's cooking breakfast!" I could hear her feet as she ran down the stairs.

I grumbled as I reluctantly got off my bed. I could see my mirror from where I was sitting. _God, my hair looks horrible._I thought as I started walking out of my room. I jumped out of the way as Gazzy ran across the hall and jumped down the stairs.

"Yahoo! Food!" He yelled as he dashed towards the dining room table. I let out a sigh as I made my to the table which was already full of people stuffing their faces with pancakes. The smell alone made my stomach growl.

"Take a seat Max. Your pancakes are almost ready." Dr. Martinez, my wonderful mother, said from the kitchen. I stared at the table, finding a place to sit. Iggy and Ella were having their own little conversation about something (probably getting all lovey-dovey). Angel and Nudge were talking about cute things. Gazzy and Total were having a competition to see who could eat the most pancakes the fastest. The only one who was quiet was Fang, who, conveniently, had an empty chair next to him. I could feel my face flush, just a bit, because of all the things me and Fang went through. But I sucked it up and sat down next to him.

"Good morning, Ms. Bedhead." He said, remarking about my hair.

"Shut up, you jerk! We all can't have perfect straight hair like you!" I puffed as I hide my red cheeks. I couldn't help but smile when I stared at the rest of the table. The flock and me have basically been through hell and back. We've even lost an old enemy who turned good, just recently. All of us have been through alot, so it's great to see everyone so lively. I love these guys!

"And we love you, Max!" Angel said, after she read my mind without permission! I could instantly feel my face flush once I heard little laughter from the flock.

"Alright, Max!" I could hear my mother call my name. "Your pancakes are ready!" She yelled as she entered the room.

**BOOM!**

An explosion rang through my ears. It came from outside. As if it were scripted, everyone stood up from the table and braced themselves for anything.

"Max! What's going on?" Nudge asked. I immediately heard the shaking in her voice.

"No clue.." I answered. "Everyone stay here! I'm going to check it out." As I was making my way to the door, I could feel Fang's hand grab my shoulder.

"I'm going with you!" He said with the look in his eyes that I can't say no to. All I could was nod.

We bursted through the door before my mother could yell to stop us. An instant blast of heat swept in once we were outside. There were cars on fire and people were running away. So of course we decided to run against the crowd.

"Monsters! Monsters!" A man yelled as he ran to the behind us. Monsters? Could they be Erasers or Flyboys? Didn't we already stop Itex from creating anymore of them?

When we got to the center of all the chaos, I could feel my heart stop beating for a second. These "Monsters" were definitely not Erasers or Flyboys. They didn't look like anything from this world. They were little black creatures with big yellow eyes and crooked antennas. One was on top of a person and scratched his chest like a cat. Blood gushed out from his chest and something started floating. The thing looked like...his heart! The man's heart was floating from his body! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang with the look in his eyes telling me that he was about to vomit.

Whatever these things are, we had to stop them before more people die! "Let's go!" I ordered as I charged towards the creatures. I kicked one of those things in the face and it instantly disappeared. There were no blood or any machinery part, so that immediately rules out the possibility of these things being human or androids. One of those creatures tried to scratch my face off, but failed once I punched it in the face. sending it flying into the fire. More of them tried to dogpile me. I performed a spinning kick, taking all of them out at once. Compared to the other things we faced, these guys are nothing. The only problem is that there are too many of them.

**BOOM!**

Another explosion from behind me sent debris my way. I was almost afraid to turn around, but I had to see what happened. I gasped in fear at the sight. The entire neighborhood was up in flames in a matter of seconds, including my mother's house. I was too busy looking at the flames that I didn't notice one of those little critters scratched my face. As blood trickled, I grabbed that monster and started choking it. I know it seems cruel of me, but right now I needed something to kill.

"Fang!" I yelled as soon as the creature disappeared. As Fang kicked one of those black things into the flames, he looked at me and nodded. We both started making our way towards my mother's house. _Please be okay! Please be okay! _Once we made it to the house, I already began fighting back the tears. The entire house was totaled. Parts of the roof was missing, there were giant holes on the walls, and the front was practically ripped off. My legs started moving by themselves towards the rubble. _They have to be alive! They couldn't die that easy! _

I could feel my heart pounding three-hundred miles per second. I looked at all the surviving rooms in the house. No Total! No Nudge! No Gazzy! No Ella! No Iggy! No Angel! No mom! No one is here. Before Fang tried to be the voice of wisdom, I spread my wings and shot through the ceiling. Once I was in the sky, I kept spinning, looking at every direction, looking for a sign that they were still alive!

I didn't find anything... I couldn't find them.

"Max!" I heard Fang calling my name from below. I could feel sweat and blood run down my face as I made my way to where he was. The expression on his face was something I didn't want to see. His eyes stared at a piece of rubble from the destroyed home.

My heart started to crumble into dust. Tears started making their way out of my eyes. I fell to my knees. Under that piece of rubble was an arm. An arm I knew for many years. Angel's arm... I don't know what came over me, but I started running out of the destroyed home and making my way towards those monsters.

"I don't know who you guys are, or what you're doing, but there's one thing I know. YOU ASSHOLES ARE DEAD!" I yelled as I charged towards the army of demons that ruined my new life in a matter of minutes.

I grabbed one of those creatures and threw it towards it's little friends. I jumped in the air and slammed my feet on their heads. I was so angry... I was so furious... I was so pissed off! I started making my way through the mob of monsters by punching everything in my way. I couldn't stand seeing them for even a second. I want to kill every single one of them! Three of them jumped towards me and started scratching my face. Once they jumped off my face, I sensed blood stinging my eyes, making me blind for a few seconds. During my blind trance, all I could do was swing my fist in every direction. I felt my fist connect a car, but I didn't care. All I could think about was fighting, striking, killing...

"Max!" I heard my name being called from behind. When my head turned, blood splattered and landed on my face. I was so preoccupied with the creatures in front of me that I didn't notice that monsters were attacking from behind me. Positive side is that they didn't hit me. SUPER negative side is that somebody else got hit instead.

"FANG!" My voice escaped my mouth as I stared at Fang who had claws going through his chest.

"Max...Get out of here!" He yelled as he coughed up blood. Before I could say anything a dark vortex materialized under Fang. Little black tentacles started making their way up Fang's body.

No... I lost almost everything. I can't lose Fang too! "NO!" I yelled as I tried to grab his hand, but if felt like I went through him because my entire body fell to the ground. I immediately lifted my head and turned around. Fang wasn't there. He disappeared... I couldn't help but cry. Ella, Mom, Total, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, Angel, Fang... I lost them. I lost them all in a matter of minutes. "Dammit...dammit...dammit dammit dammit!" I continued to curse as I started to punch the ground and tears flowed down my face. I looked at the monsters with anger, hatred, outrage... I got to my feet and started running towards the monsters, screaming at the top of my lungs.

_MAX! MAX! OPEN YOUR EYES!_

* * *

"Max! Max!" Flynn yelled as he tried to wake up Max. "No good... she's unconscious..." He stared at her left arm and his left hand. He still couldn't believe what he saw. "You're amazing blondie..."

Rapunzel, who was still drying her hair giggled with red cheeks. "It's nothing really... It's just something I was born with."

"Well... most people aren't born with magical glowing hair that heals fatal wounds..." Flynn joked.

"I think I took the hint when you started freaking out."

"Ha ha... I thought we agreed never to speak about that again..." Flynn and Rapunzel stared at each other and started to laugh, which was soon interrupted by coughing.

* * *

I felt my body jumping up and down as I cough. I opened my eyes to see stars in the sky. I blinked a couple of more times to prove that I'm alive. Was that all just a dream? Did I just decide to sleep outside for night? Is everyone alive?

"Good morning sleeping beauty." I heard the voice of Flynn Rider, a voice I didn't want to hear right now. I could feel crocodile tears forming under my eyes. They started trickling down my face. "Oh crap, what did I do wrong?" Flynn asked once he noticed my tears.

After about of ten minutes of crying like a little baby, I finally calmed down and started asking questions. I stared at our new companion's abnormally long hair. "So basically, as I was unconscious, you grabbed my body, followed Flynn through a tiny cave, and ended up on a river. Did I get that right?"

Rapunzel nodded. "Yes..." She answered with a little shaking in her voice. Was she afraid of me?

"Just a quick question. What were you and Sora doing before you made your way to the pub?"

"Oh, Sora was taking me to the town so that I could see the floating lights, or as Flynn calls them lanterns..."

"Lanterns?" I asked as my head turns towards Flynn.

"It started when the King and Queen's child was kidnapped. Every year on the princess's birthday, they light up floating lanterns and let them float to the sky, hoping the princess will find her way home..." Flynn explained some history about this world.

I turn my head back towards Rapunzel. "So why do you want to see them so badly?"

"I really don't know why... It feels like I need to see them... As if they're calling me..."

"Hey... maybe you're actually the missing princess." Flynn started laughing by himself. Once he realized that his joke wasn't funny, his laughter slowly died down.

"Rapunzel, what happened to Sora and Kairi?" I finally asked the question that was on my mind for a while.

"I don't know... I jumped in after both of you were swallowed by the water. I'm sorry..." She answered, sounding guilty for leaving them behind.

"Don't worry about it. I bet those two already came up with a plan to regroup..." I looked at our surroundings. The castle wasn't that far from us, about less than a day away... "Alright, let's head to town!"

It seems like Rapunzel liked the idea, because her face lighted up like a kid waking up on christmas morning, but Flynn on the other hand...

"No no no no no...That's not going to happen. Max, I don't know if you forgot, but I'm a wanted criminal! I can't go there!" He argued.

"Oh yeah... that's right..." I whispered. I turned my head towards Flynn with a smile. "Looks like you're going to prison just like Kairi and me planned!"

"Wha-?!" He cried out loud enough that the trees began to shake. After a few seconds he finally calmed down. "I now wish that blondie didn't heal you..."

"Huh? What do you- wait..." Now that I think about it, my left shoulder was cut by a sword. I stared at it to find nothing. I looked back at Rapunzel. "How did you heal my wound?"

Rapunzel jumped in shock of the question. "We-well don't freak out, but my hair glows and heal wounds when I sing..." She closed her eyes, expecting me to freak out.

"Oh..." I said amused, which shocked Rapunzel.

"You're not scared or shocked?" She asked. For some reason I had an odd sense of deja vu...

"Not really. Did you forget that I have wings on my back." I said with a cocky smile. Apparently my smile was funny, because Rapunzel started to laugh. Seeing her smiling face made me started to laugh with her. Not even Flynn could hold in his laughter. We continued to laugh for a few more minutes.

...

I woke up in the middle of the night, while Flynn and Rapunzel were still sleeping. Right now is the perfect opportunity. I sneaked away from the two and made my way towards the woods. Once they were out of sight, I let my wings expand and took off to the sky.

"Oh! My! God!" I yelled towards the heavens. "This feels great!" I started to fly around in circles, doing mid-air tricks, just letting my wings breath! It felt as if I didn't open them for fun in a long time... Sometimes it's great just to fly around. I looked towards the shining light to see the sun starting to rise.

And that's where the fun stops...

I immediately start falling towards the ground, hitting every tree along the way. I landed face first into the ground.

"Oww... What the hell..." I whispered as I spat out dirt that was inside my mouth. I turned my head to my wings to see what was wrong with them. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing.

My wings...were disappearing!

**To be continued...**

**What's happening to Max? Where are Sora and Kairi? What is Mother Gothel planning? Find out next time!**

**Quick question, Should I put Tales of the White Wings as part of Maximum Hearts, or should I keep as it's own separate fic. Leave your answer in the review please.**


	10. A Mother's Warning

**WOOHOO! Double digits! Let me tell you guys, after last chapters depressing tone, this one was hard to write, but I think it came out well. Enjoy!**

Chapter 10: A Mother's Warning

Rapunzel opened her eyes to the sound of rustling leaves. Her eyes were focused the stars in the dark sky with the millions of stars in the sky. She still couldn't believe at what she had done. She entirely disobeyed her mother's rule of eighteen years. She was outside, she was following her dream of seeing the floating lights, and she even made a few friends along the way!

Speaking of which, she turned her attention to her two companions. Flynn was still snoring away, without a care in the world. But...something was missing or... someone!

"MAX!" She yelled as she sat up.

"HUH-WHA? ARE WE UNDER ATTACK?!" Flynn shot to the sky screaming in horror. He looked around to see Rapunzel's distressed face. "What's wrong?"

"I can't see Max anywhere!"

Flynn turned around to a tree, where the winged girl used to be, only to see an empty tree. "Crap! Where did she go?" He asked as he got to his feet. "Stay here, in case she comes back."

"Got it!" Rapunzel nodded as Flynn started to run towards the woods. Rapunzel could only watch as he ran.

"Well!" A familiar voice screeched her ears, making Rapunzel's heart stop. "I thought he'd never leave!"

She turned around to see a face she is all too familiar with. "Mother!" She squeaked.

"Hello dear!" Gothel said with a smile one of the fakest smiles Rapunzel had ever seen.

Right now, Rapunzel wished that she was a chameleon and disappear. "How-how-how did you find me?" She asked as Gothel gave her a hug.

"Oh it was easy, really. I just listened for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that."

Rapunzel knew she would say something like that. She knew she broke her mother's heart, but she can't stop now. Not after how far she had come.

"We're going home, now!" Gothel ordered as she started to pulled Rapunzel.

"Mother, you don't understand." Rapunzel began her counterattack. "I've been on this incredible journey, and I've seen and learned so much...I've even made some friends."

"Yes, a spiky haired boy, a girl with pink hair, a girl with wings on her back, and the wanted criminal. I'm so proud...let's go!" Gothel said as she began to pull Rapunzel again.

"Mother, wait!" Rapunzel yelled as she let go of her mother's grip. "I'm going to stay with them!" She expected to have a giant argument with her mother. She prayed that neither Flynn nor Max see her now.

But Gothel doesn't seem mad at all. "Fine then! It seems like Rapunzel knows best this time." She said as started to walk away. "But I'll have you know, once those 'friends' abandon you, Mother will always be there for you." She warned Rapunzel as she disappeared into the woods.

"Hey!" Flynn called from behind Rapunzel, making her jump. "I couldn't find her anywhere." He sighed with displeasure. He stared at Rapunzel's mortified face. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh?! Uh...yeah. I'm just worried about Max, that's all..." She lied through her teeths and finished off with a fake laugh.

* * *

Gothel stared with disgust at the sight of Rapunzel escaping her grasp with each passing minute. She stared under her. The little black creature was ready to attack. "No, not yet." She ordered as the little thing rested. She doesn't know what these things are, or why she could control them, all she knew was that they and those two idiots could be useful eventually...

* * *

I can't believe it... My wings... They disappeared! I tried to take them out and started flapping them, but nothing happened. I couldn't even feel them on my back anymore. It feels like they were never there to begin with. I was on the verge of freaking out, but I quickly regained my composure because I don't want Flynn and Rapunzel to worry. I dusted myself off and made my way back to the camp.

It felt so weird not having my wings. I've had them for as long as I can remember. Not having them anymore just feels like I'm missing something. A big chunk of my life vanished before my eyes. My back feels so...empty...

When I made it back to the others, they were already awake and let out a big smile on their faces.

"There you are!" Rapunzel sighed. "You had us worried there..."

"I just went for a walk." I briskly made a lie. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Well, just be glad those little black monsters didn't get you." Flynn said as he cracked a big old smile.

"Don't worry! They can't kill me that easily! Don't forget who saved you!" I say that, but I'm not so sure anymore. My wings may be gone, but did it take something else from me? "Anyways, why don't start heading out to the castle town. I bet they have a comfy cell just waiting for you Flynn."

"Oh yeah... I forgot about that..." Flynn sighed.

"I've been meaning to ask, why are you taking Flynn to prison?" Rapunzel asked with a tilt of her head.

"This guy is a criminal. He stole a crown from the castle!" I answered.

"Where is the crown?" Flynn asked about his precious cargo.

"Kairi should have it She was the last one holding on to the bag when we were separated. Anyways, let's go! The guards are waiting!" I ordered as I started to pull Flynn by the ear.

"I don't think Flynn should be arrested!" Rapunzel yelled.

"You agree with me blondie!" Flynn squealed out with tears of joy.

"Why do you say that?" I couldn't help but ask Rapunzel.

"Well...uhh...you see..." She started to think of a way to answer. "He may have done a lot of bad things, but he's done more good things." She took a deep breath. "He protected us as we made our way across the gorge, he carried you through the cave, he stood guard as you unconscious..." She listed off all the positive things Flynn had done. It started to make me feel guilty. I looked at Flynn, whose eyes were wide. "And...and... don't you think, if he wanted to leave, he would have left a long time ago?"

"Uh...well..." I couldn't think of a counter argument. Crap, she made me feel guilty.

Even Flynn was impressed with her speech. His eyes were wide and getting teary-eyed. "Blondie..." I heard him whisper under his breath.

I stared back at Rapunzel and saw...THE EYES! The eyes a certain six years old girl always give me. I thought throughout the years, I would get better with dealings with this.

"Fine. I won't let the guards take Flynn away." I guess I still need work on that... Rapunzel and Flynn cheered for joy while I let out a sigh. How am I going to explain this to Kairi? "Let's go!" I started walking towards the castle.

"Thanks Blondie." I heard Flynn praise Rapunzel. "You really saved me there."

"What are friends for?" She stated with a giggle.

"Well it's certainly...bigger than what I'm used to." I said as I stared at the bridge that leads to the town. The building themselves looked like they were under the castle and surrounds it. The castle itself was gigantic, even from where we were standing.

Rapunzel stared at the castle town with amazement. Her smile connecting to each ear. "WOW!" She mouthed to Flynn and me as we made away across the bridge.

Along the way, we noticed another wanted poster. Just like the other ones, they got Flynn perfectly, except his nose. I couldn't help but chuckle as he ripped off the poster and throw it to the lake.

Once he got his composure back, he started to question something. "Well anyways, they won't light the lanterns until tonight. So what should we do before then?"

"I want to explore the town!" Rapunzel suggested.

"I want to look for Kairi and Sora ." I put in my own suggestion. "Flynn, why don't you take Rapunzel to explore, while I search for them."

"There's no need." He said as he pointed behind me.

I gasped as I saw Kairi and Sora running towards us. "MAX! RAPUNZEL! FLYNN!" Kairi yelled as she dashed towards us. Once she was close enough, she hugged me tight. "We were so worried about you!" She whimpered, trying not to cry.

"There, there. It's okay Kairi..." I comforted her as I wrapped my arms around her.

"We were worried sick when you started to fall into the ditch." Kairi began to sob.

"Then Rapunzel jumped into the water and we lost track of you three." Sora added as he made his way over to us. "Kairi wouldn't stop crying." He started to laugh in his light-hearted way.

"Shut up Sora!" Kairi yelled. "You were worried sick too!" She then looked back at me. "We decided to come here, knowing that you guys would come here as well."

Rapunzel bowed her head. "I'm sorry we worried you!" She apologized. "I'm sorry I jumped into the water without telling you two! I saw that they were hurt, so I thought I could help."

Kairi let go of me and stared at Rapunzel. After a quick look of Sora, then back, she let out one of her heart-warming smiles. "It's okay. You did what was right. We're not mad at you." She comforted her. "Even if you didn't jump in, I bet a certain spikey head would have."

"HEY! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" Sora yelled at the Kairi's statement. But then we couldn't hold our laughter. "Oh, by the way Rapunzel, you should braid your hair again. There are a lot of people here and they will easily step on your hair by mistake."

"I'll help!" Kairi cheered, raising her hand up in the air. She quickly grabbed my hand. "Come on Max, you'll help too." She ordered as she dragged me.

"Wai-what?"

After about half an hour of fighting the monstrous hair, we finally finished braiding Rapunzel's hair. Even though it was braided, it just barely touched the floor. I may not be too into this braiding-stuff, by I got to say Kairi and me didn't do a bad job. When we reunited with the boys, Flynn couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Even Sora gave him a "I know you like what you see" look to him, only to get pushed away.

"So anyways," Flynn coughed out, to change the subject. "They should be lifting the lanterns up when the sun goes down."

"Why don't we just have fun around the town until then?" Sora suggested. "Considering that this is Rapunzel's first time here."

"I like that idea!" Rapunzel agreed.

"Same here!" Kairi joined in. The four of them looked at me. "What about you?"

Normally I would disagree with this idea. Being surrounded by thousands of people isn't really my cup of tea. Usually that would mean there would be a high chance of fighting Erasers or not showing anyone my wings. On the other hand... we're in a completely different world, so there wouldn't be any Erasers, and what happened this morning, I don't need to worry about my wings either...

"Why not!" I yelled. "A lot of crazy things have happened. Why not take a break for today?"

After everyone cheered "hurrah!", we all ran into the town. Let me tell you this, it's much more livelier than the woods. All over the place, you could see merchants selling goods, people running in every directions, castle guards patrolling, Flynn hiding from said guards. We got some bandannas that match the ones that were all over town. Rapunzel and Kairi joined some kids with their chalk drawing while Sora and I hid Flynn from some guards as we ate cupcakes and watched the two from afar. When we entered a library, Flynn and Rapunzel looked at the map of the world while the rest of us looked at some other books. There was so many things to do in so little time.

Before the sun went down, we decided to look around the center of town. Something there peaked my interest, and I guess Rapunzel as well. There was this big mural standing near the end. It was a mural of, what looks like, the king and queen holding their baby girl. The baby princess had blond hair, unlike her parents, and big green eyes. At first, it reminded me of a green-eyed Angel, but it soon started to resemble a certain blond girl in our group. Could it be a coincidence? It has to be! Right?

Once I turned around to stare back at Rapunzel, she was dancing to the music of the passing caravan. People started to gather to watch her dance. It seems like she noticed this because she started picking people one by one to dance with her, including Sora and Kairi. In a matter of seconds people were clapping and started dancing together. Once the party got going, Rapunzel signaled Flynn and me to join them. Me, I'm not the "party-till-you-drop" kind of person. But that didn't stop me from pushing Flynn into the festivities. As a random lady dragged him into the dance, I could see him scowl at me, only to get a laugh back. Throughout the dance, Rapunzel and Flynn tried to dance with each other, only to get separated at the last minute. The same could be said about Sora and Kairi.

It seems to look like fun, but my attention keeps going back to the mural. The baby looks just like Rapunzel, but that couldn't be! Rapunzel had stayed with her mother all her life. But the princess is still missing to this day. Could it be...?

As the song sounded like it was reaching its climax, I looked back at the dance. Everybody was spinning and jumping, it started to make me feel dizzy. Once the caravan played their last note, the four lovebirds finally reached their targets. Only to have some guy yell "To the boats!" which ended the dance. They all separated with red cheeks as I made my way to them.

"Let's go!" I yelled.

"Here we go!" Flynn grunted as he pushed his boat into the water.

"You better not get any funny ideas!" I yelled. "Once this is all over, you better bring her back!"

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" He said. "Let's go Rapunzel!" He jumped into the boat as Rapunzel nodded. As they sailed off, Sora, Kairi, and I waved at them.

I looked at the corner of my eye to see Sora holding a bag. "Sora, what's in the bag?"

Sora gave off his award-nominee grin. "Flynn and I came up with this great idea." He answered.

"What do you mean 'great idea'?" Kairi asked with an eyebrows raised.

"Just follow me and watch." He said as he started making his way to where most of the citizens were.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Rapunzel asked as she turned around

"Well, best day of your life, I think you should have a decent seat." Flynn answered as he rowed the boat to the center of the lake.

* * *

"Sora, what are you planning?" Kairi asked once we found a spot where we can see the water. We can even see Flynn and Rapunzel.

Sora lifted his bag and took out three hot air balloon looking things. "Today is a special day for Rapunzel." He said. "We should help with it." He let out a grin, which was apparently contagious because Kairi and I couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Flynn stopped rowing as soon as they were perfectly in the middle of the lake. They were surrounded by other boats. Rapunzel let out a sigh. "You okay?" He asked.

"I'm terrified..." Rapunzel answered.

"Why?"

"I've been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming on what it must feel like when those lights rise to the sky. What if it's not what I dreamed it would be."

Flynn couldn't help, but stare at her. "It will be." He answered.

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

"Well that's the best part. You get to go find a new dream." Rapunzel and Flynn shared a heartwarming smile with each other. Flynn looked back at the town. "Look over there."

* * *

From the top of the castle, I can see a lantern starting to float towards the sky. That was the signal for the citizens to light their lanterns and send them into the sky. We joined in the crowd and let them go. Above us was a wall of light that was as bright as the sun itself. It looked...beautiful. You know what? You're an alright man Flynn. I'm glad Kairi and I made that decision.

* * *

Rapunzel saw a single lantern floating to the sky. Seconds later the sky was filled with lanterns. Even behind them, people let their lanterns up into the sky. Rapunzel even grabbed the edge of the boat. She couldn't look away. It was everything, no... more than what she had expected it to be. Everywhere she looked, there were lanterns. It was so beautiful.

She turned around to see Flynn holding two lanterns of his own. She quickly made her way in front of him. "I've got something for you too." She took out a burlap sack. "Max and Kairi have decided that even though you were a criminal, you still earned to have this back."

Flynn put the bag down. "Now's not the time for that." He said as he handed a lantern to Rapunzel. They both simultaneously let go of them and sent them flying into the sky. Even though more lanterns filled the sky, Rapunzel and Flynn continued to stare at each other. They could feel their bodies inching closer to each other. Closer...closer... Flynn touched Rapunzel's cheek. Rapunzel started to turn red. They continued to inch closer to each other. So close that they could feel each other's breath.

Flynn spontaneously stopped and looked off into the distance. He didn't like what he saw. The Stabbington Brothers were standing at the edge of land, holding a green lantern, staring at them. They started walking into the woods, almost as if telling Flynn to follow them. Flynn couldn't believe what he just saw. He could feel his heartbeat continuously. Sweat was running down his face. His breathing became heavy.

"Is...everything alright?" Rapunzel asked, noticing Flynn's distressed face.

"Huh? Oh yeah! I'm great!" Flynn answered, eyeing the bag next to Rapunzel. "I need to stop there for a minute." He said as he rowed all the way to dry land.

* * *

"Where are they going?" I whispered to myself as I noticed Flynn and Rapunzel going the opposite way of the town. "I'll be right back." I said to Kairi and Sora as I started walking towards the docks.

When I made it, I could see Flynn walking away from the boat, leaving Rapunzel by herself. "That jerk... What the hell is he doi-" I felt a sharp pain on my head. It's as if something blunt hit me. I started losing my sight as my knees slammed the ground. Dammit... what's going on?!

* * *

Riku stared at the castle as lanterns filled the sky. He let out a sigh. "How much you want to bet those three are here, getting themselves into trouble..."

**To be continued...**

**I think I'm getting pretty good with these cliffhangers. You thought I had forgotten about Riku, haven't you? Well anyways, after I asked about TotWW last chapter, a few of you answered, and I asked some of my friends, and I decided to keep them separate. But as a warning, a lot of plot elements in that story will be important in this fic. So either way, if you're interested, you could check it out. Anyways thanks for reading.**


	11. The Truth

**Welcome ladies and gentlemen to chapter 11. I haven't been on fanfic in so long... but I couldn't stop writing this chapter. It was really fun to write! So please, enjoy!**

Chapter 11: The Truth

"Ow... My head..." I whispered as I started to came to.

The floor was freezing. I didn't grass was so cold. Wait... grass isn't hard. I looked at what's under me. It was solid stone... It took a second to notice that something was wrong. I quickly sat up and spun 360 degrees. I wasn't at the docks anymore. I was in a jail cell! I dashed towards the bars and clenched them.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL?" I yelled between them. "WHY AM I HERE?"

"Shut up in there!" I heard a man yell. He made his way towards my cell. He had golden armor with a sun in the middle, an odd pointy helmet with a big red fuzz on the top. "You should know why you're in here." He said as he snarled at me.

"No. I don't. Please, do tell."

"You and two other are under arrest for kidnapping and assisting Flynn Rider with stealing the princess's crown!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled. My grip on the bars got tighter. "What did you do to them?"

The guard let out a chuckle. "Don't worry about them. All of you will have the same fate." He started to laugh as he walked away from my cell.

"Wait! What do you mean by that?" I asked, but it was no use. The guard continued to laugh as he walked away. I walked away from the bars and punched the wall. "Dammit!" I cursed as dust from the wall started to fall.

As my breath became heavy as I looked out the window. It was still night time, so I wasn't out for long. But long enough for the sun to start coming up.

A sudden sharp pain appeared on my back, making me fall to my knees. What the heck is going on? My breathing became even heavier, my eyesight started to fade. I grabbed my heart, which was pounding faster than a speeding blue hedgehog. I turned my head to see what was going on. I suddenly see brown feathers spreading across my back. These brown feathers look familiar, almost as if they belong there. No way... My wings!

* * *

"I can't believe I fell for that!" Flynn whispered to himself as he paced back and forth. He kicked with the wall as he yelled. "I'm such an idiot!"

He couldn't believe the Stabbington brothers tricked them the way they did. Lure him in, knocked him unconscious and put him on a sailboat right towards the guards. Now, worst of all, they know about Rapunzel's hair. She's in serious danger! But he couldn't do anything while he's in prison. He headbutted the wall in anger. As blood trickled down his face, he heard the guards opening his cage.

"Let's get this over with Rider." The guard said.

"Where are we going?" Flynn asked. The guard kept silent, only keeping a smug grin on his face. Flynn's eyes widened as his hand touched his neck and gulped.

* * *

"There. It never happened." Gothel said as she took the last piece of flower from Rapunzel's braid. She picked up her basket full of flowers and made her way out the room. "Now, wash up for dinner. I'm making hazelnut soup."

Rapunzel didn't answer to her. All she did was stare at her bedroom floor.

She heard her mother sigh. "I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you what was out there. The world is a dark, selfish, and cruel! If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it." Gothel closed the curtains, leaving Rapunzel's room.

Rapunzel made sure her mother was gone. She opened her hands and stared at the small bandanna they bought at town. Tears formed under her eyes. She didn't want to believe her mother, but she was absolutely right. She saw Flynn leave her by herself. Max, Kairi, and Sora never came back to help her. She was entirely alone. That is, until her mother appeared and shielded her from the darkness. She continued to stare at the bandanna, which had some wet spots from her tears. She layed down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Something was odd. She stared at a painting that she painted when she was younger. It was a painting of her sleeping on her bed outside in the field with stars in the sky. But she noticed something. She saw birds forming together into a circle. But the inner circle looked familiar. She compared it to the bandanna and noticed that the inner circle looked exactly just like the sun in the bandanna. She looked at other parts of her paintings. There were other circles with the same sun in the middle. All over the walls and ceilings were suns.

Seeing all of these suns triggered a forgotten memory of the same sun hanging over her head. She remembered her crib, her dolls, her old room, and... she remembered two people. Two people wearing crowns. She remembered seeing the same two people in a mural in the center of town. And those people were holding a baby girl. A baby girl with blond hair and green eyes... just like her? She looked down at the floor. There was the bag with the crown. She took it out. She ran towards her mirror and slowly put it on her head. It fit perfectly on her head, like it was meant to be there...

"Oh my God..." She whispered to herself as she crashed into her dresser.

* * *

I stared at my wings, which magically appeared. I started flapping them, to check if they actually work. Yep...they're my wings all right. Only question is...why do I have them back? Why, after a day, did I get them back?

"Hey! Old Man!" I yelled up into the ceiling. I probably look insane, but I don't care. I want him to answer me! "Do you have anything to do with this? Answer me!"

"You there!" I heard the guard yelling at me. "Shut up or I'll have to-AGH!" His yell of pain made me get to my feet. I closed up my wings and got into my fighting position, hearing the footsteps coming my way.

"Max! Where are you?" A familiar voice called my name, followed by a girl with pink hair running in front of my room.

"Kairi!" I yelled with a high-pitched squeak.

"Hold on, let's get you out of here!" She said as she summoned her keyblade. She aimed it towards the lock, and I heard it unlocked. She opened the door and hugged me, I've been getting those a lot recently. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Me too!" I said as I separated from her. "How did you find me?"

"Riku found Sora and me unconscious in our own jail cells."

My eyes widened when I heard that name. "Riku?! How did he find us?"

"Come on! I'll explain on the way!" Kairi said as we started running through the halls. As we made our way out the dungeon, I saw a group of guards stacked up into a pile. That's my girl! "Riku got bored of waiting, so he made his way into town. There he heard of four people getting arrested. They posted pictures of them up and they looked like us. So he decided to break us out."

Is it sad that I've completely forgotten that Riku was here? As we made our way through the halls, I remembered about one other person. "What about Flynn?"

"About that..." Kairi stayed quiet for a few minutes, the only sound that could be heard were our footsteps. We stopped at a corner to check if there were guards. "They're going to execute him!"

"What?!"

* * *

Flynn continued to march to his death. Actually, he had no choice, considering that the guards would stab him with their spears if he would stop. But all this walking gave him time to think. He thought about what happened to Max and the other two, about if they're going to be executed too, and then he started to think about Rapunzel. He wondered if she was okay, what happened to her after he was knocked out?

Flynn looked to his right and noticed that the Stabbington brothers were sitting in their own cells. He gritted his teeth as he came up with a plan. He headbutted the guard to his left, then the one to his right. As the guards were unconscious, he jumped and got his arms in front of him, so he could grab one of them and slam them against the bars.

"How did you know about them?" He yelled at them. "Tell me now!"

"It wasn't us!" The brother without the eyepatch yelled in fear. "It was the old lady! She told us that if we don't help her, she would use those creepy monsters and kill us!"

"Old lady?" Flynn whispered to himself, realizing who set them up. The two guards woke up and grabbed Flynn. There were a whole group of soldiers surrounding him. "No! Wait!" Flynn yelled as the guards forcefully pushed him to walk. "You don't understand! She's in trouble!" He continued to plead with the guards to listen to him. But no matter what, they continued to push him towards the executioning grounds.

* * *

Rapunzel's breath was slowly starting to go back to normal when she heard Gothel walking up the stairs.

"Rapunzel? Are you alright?" She asked as Rapunzel walked out of the room.

"I'm the lost princess..." She mumbled.

"Please speak up, Rapunzel! You know how much I hate the mumbling!"

"I'm the lost princess!" Rapunzel practically yelled at Gothel. "Aren't I?" She saw her mother's eyes grow bigger from her claim. She knew that Gothel was going to stay silent. "Did I mumble, mother? Or should I even call you that?"

"Rapunzel. Do you even hear yourself?" Gothel asked. Rapunzel could easily tell that she was thinking of a way out of the question. "Why would ask such a ridiculous question?" She went in for a hug, thinking that Rapunzel would forgive her.

But she wasn't having any of that. She pushed Gothel away. "It was you! It was all you!"

Now Gothel got serious, as her eyebrows narrowed and her eyes stared at Rapunzel. "Everything I did, it was to protect you!"

Rapunzel had heard enough of her lies. For eighteen years, Gothel had lied to her face about who she was. For eighteen years, she was locked away in the tower, never to leave. For what? Just to use her hair so she could get younger. She pushed Gothel out of the way and started walking down the stairs. She didn't stop when Gothel yelled out her name.

"I spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power." Rapunzel ranted as she made her way downstairs. She heard Gothel scream even louder, but she continued her rant. "I should've been hiding...from you!"

"Where would you go?" Gothel asked. "They won't be there for you!"

"What did you do to them?"

"Those criminals are going to be hanged for their crimes."

The news almost made Rapunzel fall to the floor. "No..." She whispered under her breath.

"Now, now, it's alright, listen to me... All of this is as it should be..." Gothel reached her hand to pat Rapunzel's head.

Rapunzel grabbed the hand before it touched her head. "No! You were wrong about the world." Rapunzel's grip got tighter as Gothel tried to break free. For the first time, Rapunzel was standing up for herself. She felt great. "You were wrong about me! And I will never let you use my hair again!"

Gothel broke free and crashed into the mirror. As it shattered, she stared at Rapunzel as she was falling out of her grasp as she started walking towards the door. "You want me to be the bad guy? Fine! Now I'm the bad guy..."

* * *

Flynn's breath was heavy, due to the beating he took from the guards. Blood trickled from his forehead and made it's way to his eyes, which stung like hell.

"You're lucky we have to take you to the executioning grounds, or we would've killed you on the spot!" One of the guards said as he checked his cheek where Flynn headbutted him.

Flynn didn't answer him. He just continued to march to the grounds, towards his death. He hated himself. He left Rapunzel by herself, she was in danger, and he couldn't do anything about it. He stared at what's ahead, which was an open door to his death. He took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

But it seemed luck was on his side, because when they were three feet away, the door shut itself magically. Suddenly, every door surrounding them closed. The guard slammed his fist on it. "Open up!"

The little slot in the door opened and Flynn saw a familiar spiky haired smile. "What's the password?" He asked as he shut the little slot.

"What?" The guards asked.

The spiky-haired boy opened the slot again. "Nope!" He closed it again.

"Open the door right now!"

"Not even close!"

"You have three seconds!" As the guard began to count, Flynn noticed the door to his right open up slightly. "One..." Suddenly the guard to his right was dragged away into the door. "Two..." Suddenly a pink haired girl knocked out the other guard with a girly giant key. "Three..." The guard in the front turned around to find one of his guard missing, his other guard unconscious, and a pink haired girl unlocking Flynn's locks. The guard stood there, shocked beyond belief. He was about to take out his blade, but a certain spiky haired boy opened the door and knocked him out cold.

"Nice job you guys!" Flynn yelled as Kairi unlocked his handcuffs. Suddenly the door to his right opened.

"Come on!" A boy with silver hair yelled. "More guards will be here soon!"

"Who are you?"

"Don't worry!" Kairi said as she grabbed Flynn's hand and started running through the door. "He's a friend of ours!"

As they ran through the halls, Flynn heard guards from behind them. Sora and the silver-haired boy stopped in their tracks.

"You go on ahead!" Sora yelled as he got into his fighting position. "We'll hold them off!"

"Kairi, remember the plan!" The silver-haired boy yelled.

"Got it! Be careful you two." Kairi grabbed Flynn's hand again. "Let's go!"

"R-right!" They continued to run through the halls. Flynn could hear their weapons clashing. He was seriously amazed that those kids could do something so amazing...for him.

When they made it outside, those black creatures from before started appearing from the floor. In a matter of seconds, they were completely surrounded by guards and monsters.

Kairi turned around and faced Flynn. "Straight back!"

Flynn's straighten his back. "Straight back." He repeated.

"Arms apart."

Flynn separated his arms. "Arms apart."

"Don't piss your pants."

"Don't piss my- wait...what?"

Suddenly he couldn't feel his feet touching the ground. He looked down to see Kairi getting smaller and smaller. He guessed this was the reason Kairi said not to pee himself. He turned his head around to see gigantic brown wings flapping up and down. Attached to those wings is a young teenage girl.

"Max..." He whispered.

"Long time no see..." She said with a big smile on her face.

Flynn looked down to see the Sora and the silver-haired boy joining Kairi in her fight. "You kids are so amazing."

"Oh, go on..."

Flynn stayed quiet for a second. "Thank you... I think we've got off at the wrong foot at first..."

"Flynn...shut up!" Max yelled. "We have to go and save Rapunzel! We can continue you thanking us for saving your ass once again."

"Yo-you're right. Do you know where to go?"

"Don't worry. Sora gave me directions!"

"All right. Let's go!" Flynn yelled as they flew towards the forest

**To be continued...**

**What will Gothel do to Rapunzel? Will Max and Flynn make it in time? Will Flynn ever learn Riku's name? Find out next time on Maximum Hearts!**


	12. Darkness Unleashed

Chapter 12: Darkness unleashed

Flynn and I flew towards a tower that was hidden in the middle of the forest. I was surprised that I never noticed such a gigantic tower when we first crash landed into this world. We could see an open window on the top of the tower, meaning we have a way to enter.

"Okay. We can get in from there." I told Flynn as we got closer.

"Max, wait!" Flynn yelled. "Drop me down on the ground. I'll climb up the tower."

"What? Why?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be much easier for both of us to just bust through the window?"

"Something just doesn't feel right. Just drop me off and go help the others." He stared at me, and I could tell that he wouldn't take "no" for an answer, just like somebody else I know...

"Fine... But I'll be back to get you guys."

"All right." We dove to the ground and I let go of Flynn on top of a patch of grass near the tower.

"Flynn!" I yelled before I took of. "Be careful."

Flynn's stared at me with his jaw almost touching the floor, which soon turned into a smile. "Thanks. You too..." We both nodded to each other and went our separate ways.

* * *

Flynn stared at the gigantic tower that stood in his way. He tried to grab the stones, but he couldn't get his grip on any of them. He looked at the top and thought of a way to reach up there. He couldn't climb, he couldn't fly...

"Maybe I should've let Max leave me up there..." He sighed as he thought. Then he remembered something so obvious. He stared up to the open window, hoping...wishing... "Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

He stared at the open window, waiting for what felt like hours. He wondered if things are worse than what he thought originally. He prayed that nothing like that happened to her.

His hopes skyrocketed when he saw hair that was 70 feet long fall towards him. He grabbed hold of the wild hair and started to climb to the top. Saving Rapunzel was the only thing that was running through his mind. Nothing could stop him. Nothing will stop him!

He reached the windowsill and went through it. "Rapunzel! Thank god. I thought I would never see you again!" He searched around the room to see something he didn't want to. Rapunzel was tied to the door and a cloth wrapped around her mouth. Flynn dashed to her and took of the cloth. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Flynn!" Rapunzel yelled as tears started to form under her eyes. "You have to get out of here!"

"Not without you!" Flynn yelled as he tried to untie Rapunzel.

"No... It's a trap!"

"What are you talking abou-" Flynn felt something go through his side. He looked behind him to see Gothel, holding a bloody knife. He felt his blood leave his body. Flynn's body crashed to the floor as a pool of blood started to surround him.

"FLYNN!" Rapunzel choked as Flynn lost consciousness. She tried to reach Flynn, but she was still tied up. "Flynn..." She whispered as she stared at her loved one slowly dying right before her eyes.

"Now look what you made me do, Rapunzel." Gothel said as she made her way back to Rapunzel. "Don't worry, our secret will die with him." She untied Rapunzel, who was still in complete shock. "And as for us, we are going where no one will ever find you again!" At this point, Rapunzel pulled herself together and started to fight back. "Rapunzel! Seriously! Stop struggling!"

"No!" Rapunzel yelled. "I won't stop! For the rest of my life, I will keep on fighting! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" She yelled so loud that she could even hear her echoes ringing outside.

"That's right Rapunzel!" She heard a voice coming from outside. "You should never give up!"

Suddenly a figure flew through the window and kicked Gothel in the face, sending her flying through the trapdoor. Rapunzel heard her falling and eventually heard a big "thud!" once she hit the bottom. Rapunzel looked at the figure's back. She watched as the giant brown wings compress into the figure's back. Rapunzel beamed with relief as the figure turned around.

"Max!" She cheered as Max gave her a big smirk.

* * *

"Do these guys ever give up?" Kairi asked as she destroyed four heartless with a swing of her keyblade.

"Firaga!" Sora screamed as flames shot out from his keyblade. "I don't know... But we have to wait for Max and Flynn!"

The ground beneath his feet started to shake. A giant crack started to form right under their feet. A giant claw made it's way out of the hole. Castle guards started to run away from the gigantic creature climbing out.

"This might be trouble..." Riku sighed as a purple creature jumped out of the hole. The body was the shape of an elephant, but it's tusks were up instead of down. There was the usual heartless emblem on it's chest.

"It's a Behemoth!" Sora yelled as he remembered fighting the gigantic beasts before.

The Behemoth jumped towards the three heroes, which they successfully dodged by jumping out of the way.

"How are we suppose to beat something so gigantic?" Kairi asked as she landed.

"We have to attack that horn on it's head!" Sora answered as he started running behind the heartless. He made it to it's rear and started to climb. "Like this!" He announced once he made it to the top. Sora started slashing the shining horn. The heartless screeched in pain as it fell to it's knees. "Now attack!" Kairi and Riku nodded as they charged towards the Behemoth.

* * *

"Max!" Rapunzel called my name as I untied her hands.

"No time for a reunion." I said once her hands were free. "Go and help Flynn." Rapunzel nodded as she dashed towards Flynn.

She wrapped her hair around his wound. I could tell how bad it was, because her hair started to turn red from the blood really quickly. Rapunzel started to sing a song that I could barely understand because of all her tears. As she sang, her hair began to glow. This was my first time seeing this and I was just simply amazed at the sight.

"You stop this right now!" Someone screamed from under the trapdoor. I turned around and saw the woman who was faking to be Rapunzel's mother floating over the door. There was a dark aura surrounding her as her hair went in every direction. "You will not take her away from me again!"

She extended her arm and something shot out, heading right towards me. I dove to the ground, barely dodging the attack, which got stuck in the wall, giving me time to look at it. It seemed like her arm turned into a black blade and she can stretch it as far as she wants.

"I should've killed you when I had the chance!" She yelled. Now I can tell that she is pissed...which I wouldn't have it any other way.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I heard that one." I said as I cracked a smile.

Fake momma growled, giving off a hint that she was losing her sense of humanity. "You're dead brat!" Yep...heard that one too.

* * *

Kairi jumped in the air and flames came out of her keyblade and attacked the horn. The Behemoth didn't take it kindly. Once Kairi landed, the Behemoth roared and a ray of light shot out from it's tusks and aimed for Kairi. Sora dove and got Kairi out of the way as the light touched the ground and it exploded.

"That was close..." Sora gasped as soon as they landed. He looked down and checked on Kairi. "Are you okay?"

Kairi's face flushed as she stared at the person who was lying right on top of her. She soon came to her senses and nodded.

"Can you two have your romantic moment later?" Riku yelled as he dodged the Behemoth's giant foot.

Sora jumped to his feet and reached out his hand. "Let's go finish this!" He said with his lovable grin.

Kairi couldn't help but smile back as she grabbed his hand. "Yeah!" She yelled as Sora helped her to her feet.

Sora began running, with Kairi behind him. "Riku! Let's do a Trinity!" He suggested. He saw Riku nodding and getting his keyblade ready. "Alright! BREAK!" The three wielders jumped in the air and attacked the giant horn all at once. The beast was left defenseless with all the attacks.

"MAJOR DRIVE!" Riku yelled as they jumped backwards and shot out Drive Orbs towards the heartless.

"ULTIMA!" Kairi yelled as the trio unleashed a barrage of fireworks, created by magic, at the Behemoth, making it fall. It was on it's last breath.

"Now! TRINITY FINISH!" They all yelled as they crossed their keyblades, concentrating their power. They created a massive ball of energy. They aimed it at the Behemoth. "FIRE!" They released the ball and it exploded once it made contact. Once the dust settled, the Behemoth was nowhere to be found.

"We did it!" Sora and Kairi jumped in the air, cheering for victory, as Riku only raised his fist.

When Kairi landed, she immediately fell to her knees. "That was exhausting..." She sighed.

Sora knelt in front of her. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

Kairi felt her temperature rise. "Ye-yeah!" She answered dodging Sora's eyes. "I-I'm fine..." She thought of a way to change the subject. "Hey! Max and Flynn haven't made it back yet!"

"You're right..." Riku said. "Something must've happened..."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sora yelled. "Problem is...how?"

The sound of horses could be heard from behind them. The trio looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

"Why are you trying to steal my daughter!" The creepy darkness lady yelled as her blade/hand extended towards me. I barely dodged it by diving forward. When I got to my feet I could feel blood rushing out of my arm.

"She is not your daughter and you know it!" I ran towards her at lightning speed. My fist connected to her face, sending her back a few feet. As she recovered, I jumped in the air and went for a flying kick.

She saw the attack coming, grabbed my foot, and threw me against the wall. Before my body and the wall separated, that witch extended her arm again. I quickly stopped the attack before it stabbed through my stomach. I put the blade through the wall. As she tried to pull it out, I flew towards her and continuously punch her in the face.

"You're just using Rapunzel for your own selfish reasons!" I yelled as I punched her face as it turned black and blue. Normally I wouldn't recommend punching your elders, but this one deserves it!

Fake momma grabbed me by the neck and pinned me to the floor. "You've pissed me off for the last time." She yelled at me. Her blade/arm came back. She positioned it right in front of my face. "Now die!" She started to move her arm forward.

"Stop!" We heard a yell coming from the other side of the room. Rapunzel was standing in front of an injured Flynn. "Stop doing this to them!"

"If I don't stop them here, they're going to steal you away from me again!" The fake mother yelled as her fist clenched around my throat.

"You don't have to do this!" Rapunzel responded. "If you let them live, I'll go with you."

"Rapunzel..." I managed to cough out. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'll never run," She continued, completely ignoring what I just said. "I'll never try to escape, but if you do kill them..." She got to her feet and walk towards the window. "I'll jump and we can both die..." I felt fake momma's grip loosen up and tremble with Rapunzel's deal. "So what's it going to be? Kill them and we all die? Or letting them live and you and I living together forever."

"Rapunzel..." Another voice came out of the previously unconscious Flynn Rider got to his feet. Holding his bloody stomach, he walked towards Rapunzel. "You don't have to do this..." He started to fall. Rapunzel dashed and caught him just before he fell. "You don't have to do this..." He repeated himself.

"Shhh... it's alright..." Rapunzel held Flynn as she started to tear up.

"Rapunzel..." Flynn whispered. He got closer to Rapunzel face. They continued to get closer. Flynn even put his hand on her head...wait... He pushed Rapunzel's head behind him and showed his knife. "I'm sorry!" He yelled as his knife ran through Rapunzel's hair, cutting it short.

"NO!" Fake momma screeched, finally letting go of my neck.

Rapunzel's hair started turning from brightly blonde to darkish brown. Even the hair on the floor started turning brown. The fake mother frantically picked up the hair surrounding her, trying to salvage any of the magic power left. I noticed that her arms started to get wrinkly and her hair started going to go white. She then turned to Flynn, getting her darkened blade ready.

"Die!" She yelled as she extended her arm forward.

"No you don't!" I screamed as I tackled her, sending both of us out of the window. During our little struggle, I noticed that her hands started to turn into dust. I quickly spread my wings and stopped falling. The fake mother, on the other hand, crashed to the ground, but not how you expect it to be. Once the cloth made it to the ground, a cloud of dust surrounded it. As the dust floated away, I could hear horses in the distance.

"Max!" Kairi yelled once she became visible. Her, Sora, and Riku came out of the forest on horseback. Kairi looked at my bloody arm. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'll explain later!" I yelled loud enough so they could hear me. "Just climb up the tower. Flynn's in trouble!"

I dashed back through the window to find Rapunzel, with her new short brown hair, holding Flynn, who wasn't moving. She had his hand on her head and started to sing...but nothing happened. Her hair didn't glow, Flynn's eyes didn't open, his wound didn't disappear... Kairi and the others made it to the to the room and quickly took the atmosphere.

"No..." Kairi whispered as she stared.

"Damn..." Sora cursed under his breath, while Riku looked away.

"Flynn..." Rapunzel whispered his name one more time. I placed my hand on top of her elbow. Our eyes met.

"I'm sorry..." I apologized. "He told me to leave it to him. If I went with him..." I didn't notice at first, but at this point I was crying my eyes out.

I could feel Rapunzel's hand touching mine. "It's okay." She whimpered. I could hear her voice shaking. "It wasn't your fault. If only I stayed in this tower, none of this would've happened." She looked back at Flynn. "I'm sorry." She connected her forehead to Flynn's. I could see a single tear run down her face and landed on Flynn's face. The mood was quiet and depressing.

Until Flynn's started to glow.

Rays of light shot out from his wounds and surrounded the room. The lights made a picture of a flower and his wound started to close. He started to look less pale. And soon, his eyes began to open.

"Rapunzel..." He whispered. Rapunzel couldn't hold back the tears as Flynn stared into her eyes. "Have I ever told you I've got a thing for brunettes?"

Rapunzel couldn't hold herself any longer. She wrapped her arms around him and attached her lips to his. No one in the room could keep a dry eye. I could see even Riku shedding a tear or two.

Suddenly, something above the fireplace started to glow. In the center of a painting was something that looked like a keyhole. I turned to see Sora, Kairi, and Riku smiling as they summoned their keyblades. They aimed at the mysterious keyhole and a beam of light shot out of it. I could hear something lock up as the keyhole slowly disintegrated.

"What was that?" I asked as I made my way towards the three.

"It was the keyhole to the world." Sora answered. "It's the gateway to the heart of the world."

"We have to lock it so the heartless can't destroy it." Kairi added.

"This was why Master Yen Sid sent us on this mission." Riku finished off my little lesson.

"So this was what you three were talking about before..." I whispered. I turned my attention to the two lovebirds who finally finished kissing. "Hey Rapunzel!" I yelled to get their attention. "Let's take you home..."

* * *

The king and queen ran down the stairs. They just received news. The news that they were waiting for years to hear. The news that their daughter has finally returned to them.

They opened the door to find six young people standing in front of them. The one with short brown hair walked towards them. The queen stared into her eyes. She had the same big green eyes her daughter has. She touched her face and she knew it was her daughter. She might have a different hair color, but a mother never forgets her child's face.

They wrapped their arms around each other and eventually the king joined in as well. This was their first time in eighteen years that they were together as a family.

They looked the five other companions and opened their arms. The girl with the pink hair forced the other three to join in on this magical moment.

* * *

The party continued on as the kingdom rejoiced of the return of the lost princess. The four of us were on our way out of the town before anyone noticed.

"So you're leaving?" Someone behind us asked. We turned around to see Flynn (or Eugene, as is his real name) and Rapunzel. Oh crap... I'm not good at goodbyes.

"Yeah." Sora answered. "It's been fun, but we have to go."

"Will we ever see you again?" Rapunzel asked as tears started to appear under her eyes. It's about to make me cry.

Kairi was ahead of me. She was crying her eyes out already! "Of course!"

"We'll come back and visit." Riku added.

Flynn stared into my eyes, which were holding back the tears. "Thank you... for everything..."

"I barely did anything. I should be the one thanking you." I said with a big smile on my face. "Now you better take care of her. Okay?"

Flynn nodded. "Of course."

"Where are you going?" Rapunzel asked.

"Very far from here." Sora answered. "But we'll always be connected within our hearts." Points for the cheesy speech. "We'll see you again!" He yelled as we started running into the forest. We all waved them goodbye to them and to this world as he head out for a new adventure...

**To be continued...**

**FIRST WORLD COMPLETE! *enter final fantasy victory music here* I'm so excited that I actually made it this far. It was thanks to support of friends, family, and from you guys. Thank you all very much. Expect more chapters soon. Very soon.**


	13. Return to the Wizard

Chapter 13: Return to the Wizard

"Hey. Do you think we can head back to the old man's place?" I suggested as the stars flew by.

"You mean Master Yen Sid?" Kairi asked, getting a nod as my response. "Why?"

"Because I have a few questions for him about the worlds and their hearts." I successfully lied without hinting anything away.

The real reason I want to see the old man is to ask him questions about what's going on with me. He knew that I had wings, and he warned me not to use them. He has to be hiding something from me, and I'm going to find out.

"I guess there isn't much of a problem if we head back for a few days..." Riku (who was now at the wheel after Sora's little "accident") said.

"I guess we could rest after all that trouble we went through back at Corneria." Sora added as he stared at the countless stars.

"Yeah..." Kairi agreed. "Plus, you two can catch up on your schoolwork."

I could almost hear Sora and Riku squeal at the word. From where I'm sitting, I could see Sora's forehead dripping with sweat.

"Maybe going back is a bad idea..." Sora suggested. I could hear his voice getting higher. Riku nodded continuously.

"Turn the ship around now!" Kairi ordered the boys in an, actually, terrifying way.

"Yes ma'am!" Sora and Riku squealed simultaneously as Riku moved the control towards the opposite direction.

I honestly never saw that coming from Kairi. That honestly scared me a bit. She always looks sweet and innocent, but I guess she has her dark side as well...

* * *

After a few hours flying through space, Riku landed back at the weird, twisted towers. I climbed out of the tiny gummi ship. I noticed the other three were starting to get out as well.

"Wait!" I yelled as they froze. "Can...Can I talk to the old man alone?"

"Are you sure?" Sora asked. "We could could probably help answer any questions you have."

"No no... don't worry about it. I think only he can answer these." I tried to avoid their questioning eyes.

"Okay then... If you need anything look out a window and call for help." Kairi informed me.

I nodded as I made my way toward the doors leading into the tower. As I climbed up the tower, I noticed that it wasn't as creepy as the first time I climbed it.

I needed to know why my wings continued to disappear. During our little space trip, I could feel my back feel suddenly lighter. As the three argued on where to go next, I quickly checked my back, and sure enough, they were gone. So I couldn't blame it on Corneria for it. So the next best thing is to talk to the old man.

When I finally made it to the top of the door, I could hear multiple voices in the room. Not just Yen Sid or Mickey, but two others as well. I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard a young girl's voice coming from the room. I could hear the door unlocking and opening suddenly. A girl with brown hair looked out at the door. She stared at me with gigantic blue eyes and cracked a giant smile. "Hi there!"

"Kat!" I could hear Mickey's voice coming from inside the room. "What are you doing?"

"Get back in here!" Another voice yelled at the girl.

"Fine!" The girl turned her head and stuck her tongue out as she went inside the room leaving the door partly open, so I let myself inside.

Inside the giant room, Yen Sid was sitting in his usual desk as three guests were standing in front of him. One of the guests was the mouse king, Mickey, the girl who opened the door, Kat I believed they called her. She was just about my height, wearing a plain white tank top and her jeans were ripped, my type of fashion. I could see that she was wearing a band-aid on her right cheek. So she was also a fighter as well.

"Ah Max. It's good to see you again." Yen Sid said in his all knowing way of speaking. "Can you wait there for a moment." He pointed towards at the edge of the room.

"Ah... Ye-yes sir!" I hesitated, probably making myself look like a complete idiot. I made my way towards the lone chair and watched the four of them having a serious looking conversation. Normally I wouldn't eavesdrop, but I couldn't help myself.

"So... the blade has been taken?" Yen Sid asked. I could see the happiness in their smiles transformed into frowns.

"Yes, Master." Mickey sighed as he stared at the floor. "We couldn't stop him from stealing the Stab Sword."

Yen Sid stroked his long white beard as he let out a sigh. "Yes. This is an issue..."

The girl bowed down. "I'm sorry!" She apologized. "I was there when the blade was taken, yet I was useless."

"Kat! Don't say that!" The rabbit encouraged the girl. "You were just tired from the fight!"

"Yeah!" Mickey continued. "Anyone would've lost after a fight like that!"

"Mickey...Oswald..." The girl stared at her two companions. I could see her eyes getting a little teary-eyed. She turned towards Yen Sid, her eyes changing from crybaby happy to determined serious. "Big Beard!" She called out. "I want to learn how to use a keyblade!"

You could see the shock that was in everyone's eyes. Even the old man almost fell from his chair. Yen Sid coughed, acting like he didn't do anything embarrassing.

"Are you sure you want this?" He tried to play it cool, but it was obvious that he was still in shock.

Kat nodded with a stern face. "I know if I have keyblade, then I could beat the guy with the black wings."

"Wait!" I yelled as I got to my feet. "Did you just say 'guy with black wings'?" Kat stared at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah... I did..."

Guy with black wings! That sounds just like...no! Get ahold of yourself Max! He's dead. You saw it happen right in front of you!

"Do you know the guy?" Kat asked.

"N-No. I just couldn't hear you right..." I lied, quickly sitting back down on the chair with red blushing cheeks. "You can continue..."

Kat nodded as she turned her head back to Yen Sid. "So, what do you say Big Beard?"

Big Bea-I mean Yen Sid (God that's contagious) pondered for a moment, stroking his beard once again. I was honestly expecting him to take out a pipe and start smoking it. He opened his eyes once again and stared back at Kat, who was practically shaking all the down to her shoes. I noticed her chest going up and down as her breathing became heavier and heavier. Sweat rolled down her face as Yen Sid opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry... I cannot teach you how to wield a keyblade..." He answered with a taste of sadness in his voice. Kat looked like she was ready to fall to her knees and start to cry. Her eyes started to once again water up and her knees were shaking more obviously than before. It looked like she was about to say something, until Yen Sid cut her off. "I cannot teach you because I don't need to teach you..."

Kat tilted her head with an eyebrow raised. "What do you mean by that?"

"I know two keyblade masters who would be perfect to train you..." Yen Sid grinned as he turned his head towards her two companions. "Am I correct? Mickey? Oswald?"

"You mean us?" The black rabbit asked. I could hear the shock and awe in his voice as Yen Sid nodded.

"Can you two handle it?"

Both of the little animals straightened their backs as they yelled "Yes sir!" with a giant smile on their faces.

Kat couldn't control herself as she picked them both up and gave them a giant whopping bear hug. The three friends jumped up and down, spinning in circles, laughing and cheering. Eventually they stopped and remembered that they were standing in front of Yen Sid, who actually had a smile on his face.

"Thank you Big Beard!" Kat bowed again, thanking the old man.

Yen Sid let out a laugh that honestly freaked me out. Who knew someone so old could laugh like a five year old. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I know the perfect place for you to train..." He said as he waved his hand in a circular motion.

Flames spread from his hands and a chart of stars appeared in front of him. The map itself looked weird, considering the fact that it was transparent. I could barely see the old man's hand behind the map. His finger stopped on a specific star and it expanded until an entire world appeared. It looked like a giant city with buildings stacked together making it look like a mountain. At the top of the mountain city, there was a giant building with skulls and giant candles sticking out of little towers surrounding it. On the top of the of the building were three ball-like things keeping it together.

"This is Death City, home of Death Meister Academy, a school perfect for teaching young ones how to use their weapons." Yen Sid explained. "Mickey! Oswald! You two will be teachers here. Teaching students, like Kat, how to master their weapons."

Creepy names aside, the school sounded pretty cool. A whole school based on teaching kids how to fight with weapons. I wondered what my life would've been like if the flock and I went to a school like that. I would've loved to be enrolled into that school, but those skulls pointing out everywhere wasn't really my style...

Yen Sid waved his hand again, so the map disappeared. "I will speak to Lord Death and see what I can do for your rooms..."

The name "Lord Death" made my skin crawl. It didn't seem to affect the other three. They were just standing there, staring at Yen Sid as he played with some little piece of rock that was shaped like a star with it's right side replaced with a bolt of lightning.

He handed it to Mickey while instructing him "I have set up the coordinates to Death City. You should leave immediately."

"Thank you master!" Mickey yelled with a big grin on his face.

"See you later Old Man!" The little rabbit lifted his hand near his head. As Kat waved towards Yen Sid.

"Bye bye!" She said with a smile.

The star shaped rock started to glow. The light surrounded those three and... I can't believe I'm saying this... the ray of light started flying across the room and flew out of the window. I couldn't help but keep staring out the window, trying to believe what I just saw.

"Well that was...something..." I said to break the silence in the room.

"Ah yes!" Yen Sid jumped, as if he just remembered that I was in the same room as him. "That was certainly...interesting..." He looked at me with a face that tells me that he was recuperating from what Kat said. A teapot and two cups floated across the room and landed on top of the desk. "Would like some tea?" He asked as the teapot poured some tea into the cup, which I have to admit, looks pretty cool, even though it's such a cliché.

"N-No thanks. Kairi and the others are waiting for me..." I declined the offer as I made my way towards his desk. "Also I would like to go straight to the point." I placed my hands on top of the desk to make myself look tough. "What is going on with my wings?"

Yen Sid stared at me as he took a sip out of his tea, meaning my act of looking tough failed. "So you have noticed..."

"Like I wouldn't notice my wings disappearing out of nowhere!" I yelled as I slammed my hands on the desk, getting a little angry now. The teacup that was meant for me started to shake across the table.

Yen Sid took another sip of his tea, completely unfazed by my actions. "I warned you about opening your wings, didn't I?"

I got off the desk and started pacing back and forth, probably looking like I'm insane. "Certain circumstances came up." I answered, not giving him the full story. "Besides, you said something about disrupting the world's border..."

"Order!" He quickly corrected me.

"Sorry, order... Nothing about my wings vanishing into thin air then reappearing the next day."

The old man finally puts his tea down and clenched his hands together. "I told you not to use your wings for your own safety."

"What do you mean 'for your own safety...' And for a matter of fact, how did you know I had wings in the first place?" I asked as my body returned to the desk.

"Because there is another person that is currently borrowing your powers."

"What are you talking about?" I tightened my grip on the desk, but that didn't stop my hand from shaking. I continued to stare at Yen Sid, but I could hear the cups shaking. I was expecting them to fall off the table.

"It seems that you and another person are borrowing each other's power. Everyday, the wings and your strength will go from one person to the other..."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Someone else is borrowing my wings? One day I would have them, then they will the next? It sounded so outrages! But then again, going to different worlds and locking the door to their hearts didn't sound normal either...

"Do you know who this other person is?" I asked as my arm continued to shake more furiously as Yen Sid shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I do not..." He apologized as he closed his eyes.

"Dammit! This makes no sense!" I slammed my fist into the table, finally making the teacups fall from the table. I was expecting to hear a smashing sound, but it seemed like Yen Sid grabbed them with that levitation spell before it made it to the floor. "I'm sorry..." I apologized as I took a deep breath. "I don't know what came over me..."

"No worries... It's only natural that you would behave like this."

"So, someone else is borrowing my strength... How does that even work?"

"If I knew, I would tell you..." Yen Sid answered, but he wasn't looking straight at me. I knew he was hiding something else from me, but I knew I couldn't beat him in a fight. Right now I'm just a normal girl and he's an all powerful wizard, guess how that fight would turn out. All I could do (I didn't want to) is to accept it.

"Tsk... Fine. But you better call me if anything comes up." I ordered possibly the oldest man I have ever met.

"Don't worry Max. I will look into this matter..."

"Okay then... Good-bye." I said as I walked out the door before Yen Sid could say anything.

As I made my way downstairs, I tried to make sense of everything that had happened. Someone somewhere is using my strength and my wings right now, doing God knows what with them. Also, that girl, Kat. There is something about her that seems familiar about her, I just can't put my finger into it. And that thing about the guy with the black wings still bothered me. The first person that came up was...him.

_No... _I thought. _He couldn't have. He's gone... But I will bring him back!_

Once I made it outside, I found Kairi staring at the flowers while Sora and Riku were playing a game of cards. Kairi turned her head and noticed my presence. She waved at me as I made my way there.

"You finally finished." She said, running towards me. Her eyes focused on my face and her smile fell a bit. "Hey, are you okay?"

I guess I didn't notice at first, but my face was still showing my worries. "D-Don't worry about it! It's nothing." I obviously lied. I didn't want to worry Kairi with this little dilemma. "I'm ready to go now."

I couldn't tell if Kairi believed me, but I guess she dropped it. "Okay then..." She turned to Sora and Riku, who were finishing up their game. "It's time to go home guys! We have school tomorrow!" She said with an evil grin on her face.

Sora and Riku looked down and looked like they were about to cry. "Yes ma'am..." They sighed in perfect unison.

* * *

As the gummi ship took off, I could feel Kairi's eyes staring at me. I turned my head to see that she was staring at my clothes. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"You don't really don't have any clothes of your own do you..." She said with her hand holding her chin.

Another thing I haven't thought about it. Since we started this adventure, I've been wearing clothes that Kairi let me borrow, considering the clothes I came here with was filled with blood.

"I guess I don't." I answered her.

She clapped her hands official as she giggled. "It's official! We're going shopping during the weekend!" She said beamed.

"Eh..."

**To be continued...**

**Clearly the next few chapters won't be filler... Surely ^_^' I'm sorry, but yes they will be. Everything has been getting really busy with graduation and whatnot. Plus the next world will be longer than Corneria, so I need to watch it a few time to get it. But I promise to finish a chapter by the end of each month. So thank you for reading.**


	14. Day Off

**Whew! Almost didn't make it in time. Who knew the end of senior year would be so tiring. Luckily this will be the last "filler" chapter before going to the next world. So please enjoy.**

Chapter 14: Day off

It's been about two days since I talked to the old man. Kairi had let me stay at her house, since I don't have a place to go. It seems her father, Hideo Tilmitt, doesn't mind the extra mouth that he has to feed. He sort of looked like the uncle in those Harry Potter films, only with a bigger moustache that would make Yosemite Sam jealous and that he is nice enough to be a saint. I guess that's where Kairi gets it from. While Kairi was at school, we sat around the living room and just talked. He had some interesting stories. He told me about the time he was mayor of the city, some history, and he even told me the story about when he met Kairi.

So it turns out that he's not Kairi's birthfather! Who knew? He told me that his wife passed away during his time as mayor. One night he snuck off, so his security team didn't follow him, and went towards the little island just off the coast of the city. He said that he and his wife always used to go there and walked along the shores when they were teenagers. On that night, there was a meteor showers, so the sky was filled with falling stars. It was so beautiful, that he couldn't keep his eyes off of it. Once he looked down, back towards the shore, he saw a little girl, about eight years old with short scarlet red hair, floating on the coast. Once the little regained consciousness in the hospital, he asked who she was and where did she come from. But all the little girl remembered was her name, Kairi.

Hideo asked all around the city, put "FOUND CHILD" signs with Kairi's picture up at every corner, he even went on national television begging the parent's of the found redhaired girl to come up to pick up their daughter, but no one ever came. Eventually he gave up, but he didn't want to see this little girl go to an orphanage. So he adopted the young Kairi and raised her with his own daughter Selphie.

"That's an amazing story." I said once he became quiet.

"Thank you." Hideo sniffled. "Thinking about that time always gets me choked up."

"You raised her well. Kairi is a great person."

"She is. But all this traveling she's been doing recently has me worried. She is usually gone for a long time. Sometimes she disappears without saying anything." He stared at me with glistening eyes. "It makes a father worry you know."

"You shouldn't be worried." I spoke up, trying to comfort him. "Kairi is enjoying herself. She loves seeing the...world." (That's one way of putting it.) "And don't worry about it! If anything happens to..." I stood up from my seat. "I swear I will protect Kairi!"

Hideo stared at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. Soon he closed his mouth as it formed into a smile and he started to laugh. I noticed that tears were flowing out of his eyes. But these were tears of joy. I was honestly confused.

"Di-did I say something funny?" I asked as I felt my cheeks fluster a bit. I sat back down on my chair, realizing how stupid I probably looked.

"No, not at all! It's just that...that Sora boy told me the same thing when he returned after being missing for two years." He answered as he slowly stopped laughing. So Sora beat me to the punch... Now I feel an even more embarrassed. Hideo looked up at the ceiling with a big grin on his face. "I'm glad Kairi has made such wonderful friends..." I heard him whisper and I couldn't help but smile with him.

And speak of the Devil, Kairi walked through the front door with her half-sister, Selphie in their school uniforms. Selphie was a child at heart. She was hyperactive, upbeat, and somewhat of a ditz. Kairi says that she is actually pretty smart, but I don't see it. Besides her cute face and her ditzy way of life, the number one thing that stands out from Selphie was her hair! Her hair went downward like normal, but then it curls upward at the end, making her hair look like a W. Everytime I see her and Kairi together, they're always giggling, always having fun with each other.

"Hey there Max!" Kairi greeted with a wave of her hand.

"Yahoo!" Selphie yelled as she put her hand on her head as if she was a soldier.

Before I could even say "Hello", the two teens walked up to me and broke most of my personal space laws. "Are you ready?" Kairi asked as she giggled.

"Ready? Ready for what?" I asked innocently, but in my mind I was thinking _Oh God! No no no no no..._

"It's time to get you some new clothes!" Selphie cheered as she jumped in the air.

"Oh yeah...THAT!" I looked away with a strong distaste in my eyes and a bad taste in my mouth. Kairi grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my comfortable chair.

"Come on! Let's go!" She persisted as she dragged me out the door. I tried to break free from her grip, but she is stronger than she looks. Geez! Are all keyblade wielders this strong? Also, the fact that Selphie is pushing me from behind isn't exactly helping. "Bye Dad!" The two sisters said in perfect unison. I stared at Hideo with puppy dog eyes, begging him for help. But all he did was wave as the two dragged me out. That traitor! I almost cried out for help as the door closed.

…

"We made it to the shopping district!" Selphie cheered with both fists in the air as she climbed up the stairs out of the subway. "Can you smell the love in the air!?"

"I don't smell love, but I do smell some pastries around." Kairi answered. "What about you Max? Max?" I slowly walked upstairs with my arms clenched my arms. I was practically hyperventilating. How could so many people fit in that tiny train? "Oh yeah... You can't handle tight places." Kairi knelt next to me. "Sorry about that..."

"No...It's not your fault." I comforted her as I regained my composure. I tried to gather my surroundings. The first things that caught my attention were the giant buildings with giant screens on them, which instantly reminded me of Time Square. The next thing was...well, what do you suspect? Place that looks like Time Square equals hundreds of people scrunched up together, trying to move. Great...just great. There were a lot of crossroads and cars everywhere.

"First place we're going is over there!" Selphie pointed towards a giant building with the word "CANDY" written on a billboard. I peeked through the window and almost threw up at the sight. Even though the window was tinted black, I could see an array of colors and frills on every piece of clothing inside. The mannequin in front of the store wore a graphic T-shirt with the name of the store in yellow with a really bright silver jacket as she wore blue basketball jeans. She had about five gold chains around her neck. She wore all that with a hideous pink wig on her head. It was something Nudge would probably love, but not me!

"Umm...No thanks. It's a bit too...gaudy for me." I declined Selphie's offer. Plus I don't think wearing all those chains into a fight would be a good idea. The Heartless might laugh to death. "Too much color isn't my style."

"Then what is your style?" Kairi asked me. I could see the relief in her eyes when I decided to go somewhere else. I guess even with all that pink she wears, she still doesn't like "CANDY."

I pondered for a moment. What was my style? I usually got my clothes from the street, or somebody just hands it to us, so I don't really have my own fashion. I looked around. Eventually a store caught my attention. Through the window I saw a store with more sport jackets, t-shirts, and more simpler clothes then what they have in CANDY. "How about over there?" I pointed towards the store.

"Really? There?" Selphie asked, sounding disappointed. "None of those clothes are cute!"

"I don't know." Kairi intervened. "Maybe Max can pull it off." She stared at the mannequin who, thankfully, had normal looking clothes. A white tanktop under leather jacket, giving off a biker vibe out of it. The bottom half were just simple jeans, which is WAY better than a frilly dress. "Yeah...I can see Max wearing that."

Selphie's cheeks were pouting as she said "Fine...Let's go." with a hint of disapproval in my choice. Once we entered the building, I realized that the store looked so much like a Hot Topic. Dark moody atmosphere, a bunch of goth-looking kids, hardcore rock songs playing on the speakers. Really not my type of lace either, but it was better than all that bubblegum pop. I turned around to see Selphie shaking. It seems like she's not used to this type of environment.

"Don't worry." I whispered to her. "I don't want to be here that long either." Selphie didn't say anything, but she nodded, giving me a clear answer.

"Max! Selphie! I think I found something good!" Kairi yelled from the middle of the store. When did she get all the way over there? That girl is fast! Once we made it over there, Kairi pulled out a bright red leather jacket over a black t-shirt and jeans shorts that would go to my knees.

"Alright Kairi!" Selphie cheered. I swear this girl has mood swings by the dozen. "You always find the best outfits anywhere." My thoughts are how did she get these in the last five seconds.

Kairi handed me the outfit and pointed towards a changing booth. "Why don't you try them on over there?" She suggested.

I nodded as I started walking passed the other shoppers, towards the changing booth. Once I made it inside and stared at the mirror in front of me, I finally realized what I have been wearing this entire time. Besides the ripped jeans I brought here from my world, I was wearing one of Kairi's t-shirts which was bright pink with an image of a cute puppy in the middle of it. Why haven't I realized that yet? It's cute yes...but it's too cute! I instantly stripped off the clothes and tried on these new clothes.

The black t-shirt was the first the first thing on. It was just a simple black shirt with no designs on it or anything. Luckily it was a "No Wings" day, so I didn't need to cut holes in the back...yet. Next were the shorts. They were a bit tight (NO FAT JOKES!), but I managed to fit them around my hips. Finally I put on the red jacket. It stopped midway, just above my stomach, so you could still see the black shirt even when I button it all the way. I brushed back my hair, which was trapped under the jacket. I once again looked at the mirror and, not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I looked good in this. Selphie was right. Kairi can find the best outfit. I punched the air for a few seconds to see how flexible it was. Luckily, nothing ripped and it seemed like it wasn't for a while.

I walked out of the changing room to show the girls. I heard Selphie gasp as I twirled around in a circle, like one of those runway models. "I told you Max could pull it off." Kairi gloated with a smug grin on her face.

"I will never doubt your fashion sense ever again." Selphie said as she continued to stare at me with awed eyes. That was soon interrupted by her growling stomach. She let out another an embarrassed laugh as she put her hand behind her head.

"I guess we can stop by and get some food on the way back." Kairi giggled. She turned around, back towards me as I held back my laughter. "Come on Max. Change out of those clothes and we'll pay for it." Great...Back to the cute little puppies.

After we left the wannabe Hot Topic, we searched around for a place to eat. At first, I began to get nervous with all the people crowding around me. Kairi, sensing my discomfort, grabbed my hand and guided me through the crowd, which calmed me down a bit. We pushed against the crowd until we saw Selphie enter a building. We quickly gave chase and found ourselves in an area where there were dining tables set up everywhere, waiters and waitresses dodging each other while they have food in hand, and the rich aroma of freshly made hamburgers fills the air. We were inside a family restaurant. I couldn't help but stare with drool coming out of my mouth as a waiter danced his way through the middle with giant burgers on a plate in his hands. I think I heard my stomach growling.

"When it comes to food, Selphie always uses her nose to find the best food." Kairi said once she noticed the hunger in my eyes.

"Guys! Over here!" Selphie yelled as she waved at us from a table. Looks like her speed with food equals Kairi's speed with clothes. We made our way over there and sat down. I picked up the menu and stared at all the different kinds of food there are. Burgers, Chicken Tenders, and Salads...Oh my!

"I know how much you eat Max, so choose whatever you like. I'll pay for you." Kairi said as she read her own menu.

"Re-really? I don't want you to waste all your money on me." I responded. I said that, but I was already searching for the most expensive thing. Does that make me a bad person?

"Don't worry about it. I have money to spare." Kairi smiled towards me and then looked back at her menu. "Ooh! This one looks good!"

…

As we ate our meal, I couldn't help but stare at the two girls having their conversation. They were giggling, smiling, and living a normal life. Something I will probably never have. I don't know if I didn't understand them or just plainly lost interest, but for some reason I started to look around the restaurant. There was a little boy who was having his birthday party here. The waiters and waitresses were singing "Happy Birthday", which they probably had done millions of times before. The little boy looks like he's having fun with that big grin on his face as he clapped to the beat of the singers. The couple next to them looked annoyed with each other. Earlier I heard those two arguing about something I honestly can't tell you about. Let's just say that the man sleeping in the couch is the best option right now. On the other side of the restaurant there was this cute old couple eating soup. Unlike the other two "lovebirds", these two looked like their love is strong and has been for years.

My attention eventually lead me towards the window. Your usual cars driving by, people walking, and your occasional weirdo were all right there. But there was this one guy standing in front of the restaurant caught me. He had long black straight hair, wore a black t-shirt and skinny jeans, he had a blank expression on his face, and his black eyes were staring...at me! At first I thought he was just some creep, but the more I looked at him, the more he reminded me of someone else. Someone I knew for my entire life. Someone who died right in front of me.

"Fang..." I whispered his name as my breath became heavy. I got up to my feet, probably making the girls jump in shock. I think I heard Kairi asking if I was alright, but I completely ignored her as I watched the man give me a half-smile (Like HE usually does) and walked away. "WAIT!" I heard my voice escape me as I dashed my way towards the door, knocking back a waiter or two. Once I was outside, I looked at my surroundings and found the man walking away. As I started chasing after him, pushing people out of my way, I thought of all the possible outcomes. Maybe he somehow survived the Heartless attack and made his way here. Maybe he's not the only one, and the rest of the flock are okay. Or maybe I'm deluding myself. Maybe he's actually dead and this guy just so happened to look exactly like him. But either way I had to find out.

I watched him cross the street, which immediately turned green once I got there. As the cars and trucks passed by, I tried to look for the black-haired man. Damn! I wish I could fly right now. Once the light turned red, I ran across the street, only to find out that I couldn't find him anymore. He was gone and I had no idea where he went.

As I cursed under my breath, I heard Kairi calling my name. I turned around and saw that she were out of breath with all the running. "Why did you run?" She asked me in between heavy breaths.

"So-Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you guys. I just wanted to get some fresh air." I lied, but Kairi gave me a look that said "I'm not buying it!", so I let out a sigh and explained to her about the guy that I saw. By the end of it, we were leaning against the wall of a building, letting people pass by us.

"So that's why huh..." She whispered as she stared at the ground. She turned towards me and showed me one of her famous smiles. "You should've told me. Maybe I could've helped you catch him." With the look on her face and after a comment like that, I couldn't help but to burst out laughing. As I laughed, Kairi soon followed. People were passing us with stares saying we looked insane. After that good laugh, Kairi grabbed my hand. "Come on. Let's go back to the restaurant. Selphie should still be waiting for us." She said, keeping the smile on her face.

"Yeah..." I nodded.

* * *

Maleficent stared at Fang as he watched his former friend walk away with that putrid redhead girl from the rooftop. Fang's eyes were narrowed and his lips were curved downward. She could tell he was furious, which would work perfectly for her. "You see...you're entire world disappears, your family is dead, and what does that girl do? Go out shopping and eating in a nice restaurant with friends. It's like she doesn't even care about you." She began to trick Fang. She had done this before with Riku, but that damn Xehanort got in the way. This time would be different. This time she will use Fang to give her ultimate power. "Now Fang. Come with me and we can bring your family back."

Fang clenched his fists as the old witch continued to talk. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but it was all true. It was like Max had completely forgotten about the Flock. Instead of finding a way, she's just spending a normal life. He turned his head and looked at the witch in the black gown stare at him. Normally he would be caught dead before staying with a green-skinned witch with dragon horns on her head. But he didn't have much of a choice. With Max not trying to save the Flock, he could only rely on the creepy witch for her help. "Tch. Fine! Do I have much choice?" He asked.

Maleficent smiled as she waved her hand so a dark portal opened up behind her. "Well then, come my child." She waved her hands towards the portal.

As Fang walked past her, he whispered "I'm not your 'child'!" and walked through the portal, leaving Maleficent alone with a big grin on her face.

* * *

As we were walking back to the restaurant, Kairi's phone began to ring. Her ringtone was of her favorite song "Sanctuary" by Utada Hikaru. It's a nice and peaceful song. Kairi picked up her phone and stared at it for a minute. I could tell the discomfort in her face as she read her text. "Who's it from?" I asked.

"Sora." She answered. "He says Master Yen Sid would like to speak to us about some sort of special training."

**To be continued...**

**Thank you for reading. Oh and for those who don't know, I rewrote chapter 1 so it fits with the plot I have in mind. If you don't mind to, please check it out. Next chapter we start on the next world and that's a promise. Here's a hint, the world is from a series NOT from America. Ciao ciao~**


	15. Special Training

**Hello and welcome to chapter 15. This is a big chapter. First, our heroes enter a new world, but also, this marks the one year anniversary (or close enough) of Maximum Hearts. So please enjoy.**

Chapter 15: Special Training

"What do you think this 'Special Training' is?" I asked as the gummi ship flew past a comet. We were on our way back to the old man's place the same day I got my new clothes. Supposedly, on his way home from school, Sora found a message in a bottle. I don't know how it crossed through space and ended up on the island, just perfectly in front of Sora, but yeah... a message in a bottle.

It said to come immediately to his tower for some sort of "Special Training." It also specifically said that I have to be there, no matter what. The fact that he wants me there caught my attention. What does he want with me? Does he want me go through this training too? I don't have a keyblade like the other three.

"No clue." Riku answered while keeping his attention to what's in front of him. "But what really worries me is WHY he wants us to take this training."

"Never thought about that." Sora said looking away from the radar and towards Riku. "I thought we were doing just fine up until now."

"Something must've came up." Kairi added. "Well we'll find out when we get there."

…

When we entered through the door, there was a different sense of mood in the air. It didn't feel like last time, where everything felt magical and something from a fairy tale. No...this time the room felt like something urgent lingers nearby. Yen Sid's furrowed eyebrows helped set the mood of the of anxiety. Even the sight of the four of us didn't calm him down at all.

"What's wrong Master?" Sora asked as we walked towards the table.

Yen Sid let out a sigh as he looked back at us with sorrow in his eyes. "I have some grave news for you all." He let out another sad sigh. "As of yesterday, seven worlds have disappeared." The mood of the room went from anxious to downright depressing as he shared his intel.

"No way..." Kairi commented with her hands covering her mouth. "That many in just a few days."

"It seems like Maleficent is going all-out on this attack." Riku commented with his arms crossed.

"Te-Tell us where she is now!" Sora ordered. I looked into his blue eyes. Just from there and the sound of his voice I could tell that his body was holding back multiple emotions. Fear, anger, and depression just to name a few. "We can go over there and stop her now!"

It took a few seconds for Yen Sid to reply, but when he sighed again, I knew it wasn't going to be good. "I'm sorry Sora. But if I sent you there now, I would be sending you all to your deaths."

The room once again went dead silent. I think even the wind outside stopped making noise. "To our deaths..." Kairi repeated.

Yen Sid nodded. He waved his hand and a puff of smoke appeared on top of his desk. The smoke soon took form of a white blade. Two ends stuck out the side, making it look like a cross. The middle of the cross had a design that made it looked like rays of light were coming from the center.

"This is the Stab Sword, or better known as Croce di Pietro. This is a powerful magical artifact that can forcefully subjugate an entire world and it's inhabitants."

I remembered about the other girl who met with Yen Sid the other day. She spoke about the Stab Sword being stolen right from her hands. I knew that it would be a problem, but not this big.

"It's been said that The Croce di Pietro can kill a saint in one swing. Imagine what it can do to normal people." Yen Sid continued giving us gruesome details.

The thought of hundreds of people running for their lives, only to get a sword to the back ran through my mind. It reminded me of when my world got destroyed by the Heartless. I clenched my my newly formed fists and bit my lower lips. I looked to my left, where everyone stood shaking with fear in their eyes. Even Riku, who usually the most calmed one, looked scared.

"Isn't there a way to stop her!" My voice escaped me. "It can't be impossible to beat her!"

Yen Sid stared at me with wide-eyes, probably shocked that I actually spoke up when nobody else did. He cleared his throat as he began to answer my question. "I'm afraid that none of you can defeat her..." All of what little hope anyone had immediately flew out the window. "...yet." As he said that, the hope instantly returned. "You see, not even the keyblades can stop The Croce di Pietro, but there are other weapons."

Yen Sid waved his hand and The Croce di Pietro dispersed into tiny rays of lights. They quickly regrouped and made a new image, this time a map full of stars. "There is a new type of weapon being used in a world named Namimori. A world filled with the mafia." When he said "Mafia," my mind instantly thought about guys in black suits and ties, wearing dark sunglasses, and holding Tommy guns. "I have one of their new weapons right here."

Yen Sid opened a drawer in his desk. I tried to get a little sneak peek by going on my tiptoes, but it was too low, I couldn't see anything. He took out and, let me tell you, it's nothing like a Tommy gun. It was an orange box that had cracks all around it and a little hole on the top part of it.

"How does it work?" Riku asked the question that was probably on everyone's mind.

Finally Yen Sid let out a smile as he answered "Actually, I have no idea!" The four of us almost fell to the floor because of how stupid and so "Un-Yen Sid" that response was. "That is why I want you four to go to Namimori and find out how to use these weapons." Yen Sid turned his head towards me. "Max, catch." He threw the box towards me. I barely had time to respond as I caught, almost dropping the weapon. "Out of the four of you, you're the only one who doesn't have a weapon."

"Uh...thanks." I said as I stared at the box. I wouldn't actually call this thing a weapon, but I have seen weirder things, like magical giant keys and glowing healing hair.

"I want you all to go to Namimori and look for a man named Reborn. You can tell who he is because of his pet chameleon. Just tell him that I sent you and he will be happy to help." Yen Sid stared back at his map then back at us. "There should be no Heartless in that world as of now, but all the same, be careful."

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and, yes, even I straightened our backs and simultaneously bowed as we walked out the door and headed for the gummi ship for our "special training."

…

It actually wasn't that long before we made it to our destination. In a matter of a few short hours, we could see the new world in front of us. The entire trip was pretty quiet. I guess hearing that hearing the enemy getting strong enough that they can't defeat them got to them. It was so weird not to see them all smile, especially Sora.

"Hey guys! Looks like we finally made it." I said, adding a laugh behind it, attempting to cheer them up. But nothing happen. None of them even cracked a smile. I let out a sigh thinking of a way so they would stop being depressing. "Look guys...I know I haven't been with you all for that long, but you all have showed me how to smile, even though my entire world is gone. And...excuse my cheesiness, but I know we'll find a way to stop that Maleficent and kick that witch's butt!" I would've stood in my seat if it wasn't for the fear of hitting my head on the roof. I'm not one to usually make these mooshy speeches, but at this moment it felt right.

I looked at the crew to see that all, but Riku, were staring at me with shocked expressions. I was about to hide my face in embarrassment until I heard the guy in the driver seat beginning to laugh.

"That is so unlike you!" Riku continued to laugh. "It's usually Kairi giving us the pep talk." He continued to laugh giving me two worries. One) How stupid did I look? And two) Is he paying attention to the ship?

Well the answer to number one was answered when Kairi and Sora began to laugh. At least Kairi tried to hide it as she covered her mouth with her hand. Sora on the other hand chuckled like there was no tomorrow. This time I DID hide my face, because I felt it turning tomato red.

"We're sorry Max." Kairi apologized in between laughs. "But we never expected you to say something like that."

"Yeah, well...don't expect it ever again!" I sulked, still covering my face.

"Thank you Max..." Sora said as he began to end his laughter. "We really needed that."

"You fit right in." Riku commented. I'll just take that as a compliment. I took my hands out of my face and noticed that I was surrounded by smiles. Even Riku turned around for a second and let out a smile. He quickly turned back a looked at the new world. "Buckle up. We'll be landing soon."

…

Once we landed in the new world, as usual, I was the first one to jump off the ship and then looked around me. Riku decided to land in the forest area, away from the city. In the distance, I could see that there was a shrine. It looked dusty and hasn't been used in a long time. I looked back at the ship as Riku was the last person to get off the ship.

"I know you parked here so civilians wouldn't find the ship, but wouldn't it be a problem if a hiker walks up here and see the ship." I asked with my head slightly tilting.

Riku grinned as he showed me the keys of the ship. "I already got that under control." He answered as he pressed a button. Suddenly the ship began to glow so bright that I had to shut my eyes. When I reopened them, I had to do a double-take, because the ship wasn't there anymore!

"The ship has a built in cloaking device." Sora answered as he saw my astonished face. He walked where the ship used to be and pressed his hand against it. It looked like Sora was leaning on thin air. "You would really have to search for the ship to find it."

I walked towards the invisible gummi ship and extended my hand. Once I felt the cold exterior of the ship, I instantly brought my hand back, like a cat who's touching something for the first time. I looked behind me to see the three keyblade wielders laughing. Geez...was today everyone make fun of Max day or something... But watching them laugh apparently made me start laughing too. It felt good seeing them laugh again. But that laugh wasn't going last long.

"AAAAGGGGHHHH!" We heard someone screaming close by. We turned and saw, what looked like lightning, deeper into the forest. We all looked at each other, nodded, and made our way towards the lightning.

We all hid behind trees to get a good look at the scene. I saw three people. One of them had silver hair, just like Riku's but shorter. He wore a black jacket over a red hoodie. He had a white belt and chains over his blue jeans. He had a whole bunch of different looking rings in his right hand, while on his left arm, was this weird gun thing with a skull on the front. He was staring at the guy next to him. I could tell he was the one who screamed in pain because he was lying on the ground, not moving. Smoke came out of his baby blue squared shirt and from his spiky black hair. The kid guy with silver hair turned his head to the front of him and stared at the third guy. He looked much older than the other one. He had blond slicked back slicked back, except for two little pieces of hair in the front, wore a black jacket with silver cups on his shoulders over a white t-shirt. In his hands was a...is that a pool cue? I looked at Riku, who signaled me to wait.

"I may have been hurt by that if his sword had it been enveloped in his Dying Will Flame." The blond man said with a smirk on his face. I looked closer at him and noticed two yellow foxes hanging on his shirt. Wait...They're not yellow... They're emitting electricity! "Now, I have a few things I'm curious about. When did Vongola the Tenth come back to life?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but it looked like the silver haired boy wasn't going to answer. "It would be a problem if the Tenth was still alive. Many of my comrades saw him getting shot in the head."

Hearing those words seemed to get the silver haired boy furious. "You bastard..." He grinded his teeth. "How dare you!" He pointed his skull gun towards the blond man. "I won't forgive you!" A red laser shot out of the mouth of the skull and went straight towards the other man. The man's foxes twirled around the beam and surrounded the boy. Lightning came out of their bodies and electrocuted him. As he fell to the ground, the man twirled his cue and walked over to him. He pressed the cue on his neck, choking the boy.

"Now tell me. Why is the Tenth alive?" I could feel my nails bury themselves into the tree as I watched what unfold. I looked back at the others. They looked uncomfortable too, but they still signaled to wait. I looked back towards the two when I heard the boy screaming out in pain as the blond man stepped on his hand. "There is one more thing that makes me curious. I recall the rings you're wearing. What kind of joke is this? Answer me!" He yelled as he pressed harder on the boy's hand.

I couldn't wait any longer. I figured if I ran up to him quietly, he wouldn't notice me. I quickly started making my way towards him, completely ignoring Riku, who was probably furious at me now. I swiftly jumped in the air and went for a kick to the head. Suddenly my kick stopped in midair. The blond hair man stopped my attack with his pool cue. Just how strong is this guy?

"Hmm...Now who are you?" He asked while staring at me.

I jumped away. "Just a girl who hates bullies." I answered when I landed.

The man stared at me with distaste in his eyes. "This has nothing to do with you!"

"It does now!" I yelled as I started running towards him. I lifted my fist and tried to punch his face in. He instantly dodged by sliding to the right. He may be fast, but I know I'm faster. I turned to the right with my leg in the air. He blocked the attack with his cue. He slid away from me, using the momentum of my kick.

"If that's how it is..." He said as his electric foxes landed next to him. "I'll just have to kill you two."

"Firaga!" I heard someone yell from the forest. A ball of fire shot out and hit the back of the man. Kairi ran out of the forest, keyblade in hand, still smoking from the spell.

"Another one?" The man asked as he winced in pain. He was preoccupied with her that he didn't notice Sora and Riku running towards his back. They swung vertically, hitting the man's back. Now it was my turn to successfully finish off that kick to his face, which sent him flying towards a tree so hard that he flew right through it. I took a big sigh of relief when he didn't stand up.

"That was a stupid move." Riku said. I could just hear the disapproval in his voice. Then he let out a sigh. "But I know if you hadn't done it, then one these two would've." He pointed towards Sora and Kairi, who took it as a compliment.

"Well anyways, let's go and heal the other-" Kairi stopped mid-sentence as she turned towards the unconscious boys. I turned around to see what she was looking at. I could hear myself growl as I saw the two electric wolves standing in front of us. They jumped in the air and spun around, making a huge circle of electricity.

"I got this!" Sora said as he jumped in the air and attacked one of the wolves. Suddenly electricity passed through his keyblade and surrounded Sora. He yelled out in pain as he began to fall back to the ground. Riku dashed and caught him.

"Is he okay?" I asked as Kairi and I ran to them.

"He's still breathing..." Riku answered. He looked up to where the foxes were still spinning in circles.

A sharp pain suddenly went through my body. It felt like all of my organs were vibrating, trying to escape my body. It took me a second to realize that I was being electrocuted. As I was fighting the pain, I noticed Riku and Kairi screeching in pain. They both fell to the ground with me quickly following. I tried to get back on my feet, but the pain was too much. I felt my consciousness fading quickly. The last thing I saw was the man staring down, smiling at me.

"Good night, princess." He said right before he kicked my face and everything went dark.

**To be continued...**

**Thanks for reading. Wow it Writing this fanfic is an amazing experience. It helped me so much with my actual writing. Thank you all so much and expect more chapters in the future.**


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